Kpalbe (N/R), April 18, GNA - President John Atta Mills will cut sod for the

commencement of a Rural Electrification Project in the Northern Region to

extend electrification to rural Ghana. The project, which is part of an initiative to provide the requisite

infrastructure in deprived areas, would also aid the agenda of the Savanna

Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) aimed at rapid transformation of

the area. The President would be cutting the sod after the Easter Festivities whe= n he

visits the Northern Region. Mr. Moses=A0Mabengba, the=A0Northern Regional Minister, said this at a= sod

cutting ceremony for the construction of Nkparibato Islamic Senior High Sch= ool

Complex at Kpalbe in the East Gonja District. The school complex, which is an initiative of the Nkparibato Youth

Association, is under the leadership of Mr. Alhassan Mumuni, East Gonja

District Chief Executive, who had also establish an Educational Endowment

Fund to assist brilliant but needy students in the district. The project to be funded by the Association with support from governme= nt

seeks to bring education to the door steps of the youth in the area to prev= ent

them from migrating to the south. Mr. Mabengba said more than 2,200 rural communities nationwide were

expected to benefit from the project which will facilitate rapid national

development. He said as part of one of the key areas of the Better Ghana Agenda of the

National Democratic Congress, the project would help to significantly reduc= e

poverty and would create an effective platform for brisk income-generating

activities in rural areas. Mr. Mabengba reiterated government's commitment towards investment i= n

people through various social projects and intervention. On the school complex, he said the regional administration would consu= lt

with the Ghana Education Service to regularize it to become a public institution

and promised 100 bags of cement towards the building of the school. Mr. Mumuni appealed to the youth to take their education seriously, sinc= e it

was the only source of acquiring knowledge. Kitiwura Mahama Saaka, Chief of Kpalbe, called on the Electoral

Commission to consider creating another constituency in the area to enhance

participatory democracy and equity. He also appealed to the government to help complete the Tamale-Salaga= -

Makango stretch of the road to ease the movement of goods and people in the

district. Lepo Wura M. N. D Alhaji Jawula called on the people in the district to unite

and work hard to ensure peace in the area.