Tamale, Dec. 1, GNA - The Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) has secured a grant of $15 million from the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom to develop a Millennium Development Village (MDV).

Ghana is making a top-up of $three million for the project expected to commence in January next year.

Alhaji Gilbert Seidu Iddi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SADA announced this at a seminar held on SADA by the Upper East Students Union (UPESU) of the University for Development Studies (UDS) in Tamale on Thursday.

The seminar was on the theme: “Prospects and opportunities, entrepreneurship on SADA for students.”

He said the MDV is to be located in West Mamprusi District of the Northern Region and South Builsa District in the Upper East Region where a number of communities would be selected to constitute a cluster of villages with a population of 30,000 people that would benefit from the project.

He said the objective of the MDV is to work with the communities to help them achieve the eight Millennium Development Goals.

He said SADA had also already initiated a sustainable housing project at Malzeri in the Yendi Municipality of the Northern Region with the United Nations Development Programme committing half a million dollars to the project, and the Authority providing counterpart funding of GH¢ 2.5 million.

Alhaji Iddi announced that SADA had also received its first grant of $1.5 million from China for the purchase of agriculture machinery.

He said SADA is implementing its immediate attainable objectives within the larger framework of its long term objective which has more than 20 years implementation period.

He reminded critics of SADA to realise that the programme is a process and not an event, saying that for such a big programme to succeed there is the need for constant consultations.

Mr Yakubu Mohammed Saani, Deputy Country Director of ActionAid-Ghana urged the authorities of SADA to factor in the role of women in the implementation of their activities, saying ” it is not about gender mainstreaming, it’s about them driving the agenda and taking key decisions in the programme”.

He also urged SADA to pursue tailor made programmes to ensure that the vulnerable and excluded are involved.

Mr Kotochi Mohammed Clement, Students Representative Council, President of the Nyankpala campus of UDS, appealed to the authorities of SADA to consider establishing a research centre in one of the campuses of the UDS since it is the programme's catchment area.

He also urged SADA to ensure that students of the university are the first beneficiaries of the jobs that would be created out of the programme's activities.

Mr Asebilla Alfred Nyaapika, President of the UPESU said the seminar was organised to enable the students to better understand the activities of SADA and to learn of the prospects and entrepreneurial opportunities available to them.