District Chief Executives in Northern Sector meet at Paga

Mr. Kwadwo Baah Wiredu, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, has called on District Chief Executives (DCEs) to focus on job creation at the local levels to help stem rural unemployment.

They should also step up the construction of markets in such communities to promote inter-district trade to stimulate economic growth. In a speech read on his behalf by the Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hajia Alima Mahama, at Paga in the Upper East Region, he further directed District Assemblies to allocate 5 per cent of their common Fund for infrastructure development to improve the living conditions of the people.

He was addressing a durbar organized by the chiefs and people of the Paga Traditional Area to welcome DECs from the Northern, Upper East and upper West Regions who attended the meeting.

Mr. Baah Wiredu said good governance called for consultations especially with traditional rulers and urged DCEs to be in constant touch with chiefs and the people at all times. The Minster explained that the purpose of the meeting was to enable the DCEs review their performance, exchange ideas and co-ordinate their activities to achieve the best results.

The paramount chief of the Paga Traditional Area, Pe Charles Awia Awampaga 11, appealed to the government to take pragmatic measures to restore lasting peace in Dagbon. He said the people would understand government policy better if Ministers of State and DCEs travelled to rural areas frequently to interact with them.

The chief commended the DCEs for choosing his traditional area for the meeting. He described the recent death of Mr. John Achuliwor, MP for Navrongo Central as unfortunate and appealed for calm during the by-election to fill the seat.

In a welcoming address, the Upper east Regional Minister, Mr. Mahami Salifu, expressed the government’s recognition of the chieftaincy institution and the ability of traditional rulers to rally the people for development. He said interaction at the durbar would afford the DCEs with the opportunity to listen to the concerns of the traditional authorities and see how best they could work as partners for the accelerated development of rural areas.