President John Dramani Mahama has commended the management and board of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) for re-positioning the authority to fulfill its mandate to develop the savannah ecological zone.
President Mahama was speaking at the 20th Ghana International Trade Fair in Tamale yesterday, which hosted over 600 exhibitors from across West Africa and other parts of the world.
[contextly_sidebar id=”GDD2lzmERR1WKAoGfV50b2tdNSXklNqD”]SADA is an agency responsible for coordinating a comprehensive development agenda for the savanna ecological zones comprising the three northernmost regions and stretches of Brong Ahafo and Volta Regions that are contiguous to the Northern region of Ghana.
Its mandate is to assist in the development of agriculture and industry in the region to help lessen the disparity between its development and elsewhere in the country.
Some officials of SADA were involved in some corrupt deals during its initial years, earning the developmental agency, a negative reputation.
In his address, President Mahama conceded that the SADA programme had encountered some challenges early on that limited its effectiveness but mainly because of Government’s enthusiasm to see the programme succeed quickly.
“When SADA was formed, we realised that the challenges that needed to be addressed in the Savanah zone where very very difficult challenges and so it was the determination of Government to let SADA hit the ground running. In the hurry to let SADA start running as quickly as possible, there were challenges as a result of the fact that it structurally had not been set up properly. It did not yet have the government system to enable it carry it out its work effectively so of course we suffered setbacks,” he explained.
President Mahama however noted that the new management of SADA had positioned the programme to effectively achieve its vision by providing more transparency to enhance partnerships that will drive development.
“SADA is more accountable, it is more transparent and as a result of that it is building bridges and partnerships with many of our international development institutions.”
The President expressed optimism and excitement with current direction of SADA saying, “I am happy to say SADA is back on track and it is going to be a vehicle for the accelerated development of the Savannah zone of our country.”
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By Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana