The former Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Professor Kwame Karikari has said northerners in the Mahama administration appear to be failing the people of the north.<\/p>\n
He has therefore admonished the current crop of northerners in government to show more commitment to ensure the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) programme designed to bridge the gap between the impoverished north and the rich south works.<\/p>\n
Prof. Karikari was speaking at the 10th \u2018Kronti ne Akwamu\u2019 Lecture in Accra.<\/p>\n
In an interview on\u00a0<\/b>Eyewitness News<\/strong>\u00a0<\/b>on Thursday, he indicated that public and political officials from the three northern regions in Ghana must be \u201cmore concerned that what belongs to them is delivered to them.\u201d<\/p>\n He observed that \u201cthis is the first time in a long time where we have crop of people from the north who are perhaps the most influential in decision making in government\u201d and advised them to make good use of their positions.<\/p>\n He dismissed the assertion that when much attention is paid to the development of the north, southerners would complain of neglect.<\/p>\n \u201cThe rationale for the special programme for the north is simply that\u2026colonial policies deliberately made sure the north was under developed so that it could produce just labourers for the south.<\/p>\n The discrepancies between whatever level of development there is in this country between the north and the south are still very huge\u2026so there is a justification of development for the north so that there is a certain parity,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n Accessing the activities of SADA four years after its establishment, Prof Karikari pointed out that the current media reports on the Authority is indicates \u201cthere are some major problems somewhere. It appears that the project SADA is not going anywhere or the people who have been put in charge are not seriously responding to the objectives of the SADA programme.\u201d<\/p>\n He therefore counseled the new board members of SADA appointed by President John Mahama not to waste time on \u201cwhat wrongs have been committed. That shouldn\u2019t be their focus\u201d and neither should they concentrate on the personal benefits they will derive from their positions.<\/p>\n \u201cThey should get down and plan and ensure that the project succeeds,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n SADA is an independent Authority set up to coordinating a comprehensive development agenda for the northern savannah ecological zone in Ghana.<\/p>\n It\u2019s main objective is to promote sustainable development using the notion of a forested and green north to catalyze climate change reversal and improve livelihoods of the most vulnerable citizens in the area.<\/p>\n Although in recent times there have been reports of financial malfeasance by some of its top management officials, government is taking steps to restructure the Authority to ensure the effective execution of its core mandates.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n By: Efua Idan Osam\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana
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