Kufuor's administration is flexible- Major Quashigah

Gung, (N/R), October 14, GNA- Major Courage E.K. Quashigah, (Rtd), Minister of Food and Agriculture has noted that the Executive has been flexible for Ministers to initiate programmes that would impact positively on the lives of the people.

He, however, cautioned that the government would hold accountable those who have wrongly applied their initiatives to the detriment of the welfare of the people

Major Quashigah was speaking at the commissioning of a 60 million-cedis "Poldaw" Wind Pump for the people of Gung in the Tolon-Kumbungu District on Monday.

Engineers and technicians of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and FATECO under the Village Infrastructure Project (VIP) manufactured the facility, which is the first of its kind in Northern Ghana and second in the country

The Wind Pump, which pumps from the depths of 90-140 metres and can deliver between 21,000 and 42,000 litres of water per day would be used to irrigate five hectares of land for vegetable production during the dry season and serve as safe water for the people in the area. It is also suitable for any location with an average wind speed of three metres per second and can withstand storm up to 180 kilometres per hour.

Major Quashigah urged Directors and Extension Officers under his Ministry, to come out with proper programmes to effect a change in the living conditions of Ghanaians.

He expressed concern about deplorable conditions under which most farmers and fishermen in the country still live even though their contributions had benefited the country immensely.

The Minister announced that his Ministry would manufacture 50 of the Wind Pumps next year to address water problem during the dry season. Mr Alhassan A Baako, the Tolon-Kumbungu District Chief Executive appealed to the government to rehabilitate the three dams in the districts to provide water for dry season gardening and rehabilitate feeder roads to make them accessible to link marketing centres.

The Chief of the village, Naa Alhassan Nimdow, appealed to the government to provide the local primary school with new school block to replace the old one, which is in a very bad state.

He urged the MOFA to assist the farmers with improved seeds and hybrid crops to increase food production.