Rockson Bukari thanks Upper East media for support

Mr Rockson Ayine Bukari, the former Upper East Regional Minister has expressed gratitude to the media fraternity in the region for the collaboration and support they offered him to project government policies in the region during his administration.

“I cannot leave this region without calling you to thank you for the support you have given to the Regional Coordinating Council and the government of the New Patriotic Party under the leadership of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.”

“When I was asked to serve this region, you people made me very comfortable, and I also brought the vision of His Excellency the President to bear,” Mr Bukari said.

He said the media made it possible for the chiefs and people of the region to embrace government policies, “today I can assure you that the Planting for Food and Jobs has been embraced because you are the people who really educated our farmers.”

Mr Bukari thanked the media when he officially handed over the administration of the region to Mr Frank Fuseini Adongo, the Deputy Regional Minister to assume his new position as Minister of State at the Presidency.

He described the media as “makers of modern minds” and said “you have kept us government officials on our toes and brought to light challenges facing the people of the region, which needed government’s attention”, adding that even though he was leaving, he would still need the support of the media.

He said there were critical issues in the region the media needed to highlight on as part of its work, and used the opportunity to appeal to Journalists to use their platforms to project the positives in the region in order to invite investors.

“Positive reports about the region will help us. It will not discourage investors from coming to this region. If you give negative reports, it would not be good for us. So I am appealing to all of us, especially the media to manage that aspect because we are so far from the centre.”

Mr Bukari emphasised that “negative reports will affect us,” and admonished Journalists to endeavour to cross check their facts before they published their stories. “The media helped me to promote the peace and stability in the region, especially in the conflict prone areas. So I want the press to always talk about the positive side, bring reconciliation so that the people will understand, especially our traditional rulers.”

He said the healthcare system in the region was bedevilled with shortage of doctors in all its health facilities and urged Journalists to trumpet such challenges to ensure that the problem was solved to enable people of the region assess better health care services.

Mr Samuel Akapule, an executive member of the Upper East Regional Branch of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), who reciprocated the Minister’s gesture of appreciation for the media in the region on behalf of the Regional Chairman of the GJA, Mr Eric Kwadjo Amoh, thanked the Minister in the same magnitude and expressed gratitude to Mr Bukari on behalf of the Association for the cordial relationship he established with the media, and expressed the hope that subsequent Ministers would do same.

He appealed to Mr Bukari not to forget the GJA in the region, but use his influence to assist the Association to acquire an office space and a bus to aid in its activities in the region.