Alhaji Limuna Mohammed-Muniru, Northern Regional Minister has asked women in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District (STKD) to form cooperatives of 25 members each to receive funding support from the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC).

He said this at a durbar of chiefs and people of Sawla to inaugurate a Fire and Ambulance Service Station for STKD and handing over of a newly-constructed market and a lorry park to the STKD at Sawla at the weekend.

The Station is to help ensure effective fire control and management in the district while the market and the lorry park are to help promote trade in the area.

Alhaji Mohammed-Muniru said the funding support is to enable the women to undertake and, or expand their economic activities to take care of their families especially the education of their children.

Most women at STKD engage in trading, farming, amongst other ventures.

The Regional Minister said evidence had shown that when women prosper, the entire family succeeds hence the decision to support the women with MASLOC loans to improve their livelihoods.

He, therefore, urged the District Chief Executive to facilitate the process of registering the cooperatives and submitting the list to MASLOC to enable the women to receive the financial support.

He urged men in the district to support their wives to ensure success.

Alhaji Mohammed-Muniru said government is working to equip the Ghana National Fire Service to enable it to handle all cases of fire in the country.

He commended the chiefs and people for sustaining the peace in the district and urged them to continue to coexist to accelerate development.

Alhaji Mumuni Isaac Dramani, District Chief Executive said the district had undertaken a number of development projects especially in the education sector to help improve academic performance as well as the livelihoods of the people.

Sawla-wura (Chief of Sawla) Bukari Alidu commended the government for initiating numerous development projects in the area.

The Regional Minister, accompanied by Alhaji Dramani, paid courtesy calls on the chiefs of Tuna, and Kalba to interact with them and the people, and later inspected development projects.

He also visited Tuna Senior High and Technical School, where the students recently vandalised school property, and advised them to eschew indiscipline and focus on their studies.