The Member of Parliament (MP) for Manhyia South, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has donated items, including bags of cement and roofing sheets, towards the construction of the palace of the Alata Chief in the Zongo community, and the improvement of classrooms infrastructure at the Wataniyya Amariya Islamic School in the Afua Kobi Electoral Area.
One hundred and twenty five bags of the cement are meant for the reconstruction of the palace, which got burnt few weeks ago, whilst an additional 65 bags and roofing sheets are meant for the Islamic School. The burnt palace was said to have housed the first Zongo office of the then Progress Party (PP), which later became the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The NPP MP additionally presented a scholarship package for 10 Muslim students at the Senior High School level, as part of efforts at improving the quality of education in the community.
He, therefore, promised that the gesture would be an annual exercise, aimed at providing support for brilliant but needy students within the Zongo communities, stressing that it was his responsibility as an MP to ensure that educational development in the constituency was improved.
Dr. Opoku Prempeh also expressed his condolences to the Chief, and prayed that God the Almighty replenishes the community for the losses. He, therefore, appealed to the chiefs and school authorities to make judicious use of the items, and also conduct due diligence in the selection of beneficiaries for the scholarship scheme.
The MP also urged them to use the Ramadan occasion to pray for Ghana and the leadership, in order to ensure prosperity. Dr. Opoku Prempeh, in an address at the presentation, encouraged the government to work hard to ensure the improvement of education in the Zongo communities.
Dr. Opoku Prempeh, aka Dr. Napo, believes that the improvement of education in the Zongo communities, mostly seen as deprived areas, would have positive effects on the general improvement of the sector and help the socio-economic development of the country.
He said one of the major ways of reducing poverty and bridging the development gap in deprived areas was to enhance education and ensure its accessibility to people who could not afford it.
The Spokesperson for the Alata Zongo Chief, Baba Lasisi Adebisi, expressed gratitude to the MP for keeping to his promise, saying that the chiefs and people of the community were very grateful for the gesture.
The Headmaster of the Wataniyya Amariya Islamic School, Mr. Issah Abubakar, said the items would be channelled towards the completion of classrooms which were under construction. He, therefore, made an appeal for the provision of computers to help facilitate the teaching of ICT in the school.
