The areas his outfit looks at developing includes infrastructure, sanitation, economy and security.

[contextly_sidebar id=”QCVTYxjzSPgMCfOuZFrVGQ02nlIrmC49″]According to the Minister, the above-mentioned areas are very important to the developmental agenda his ministry is spearheading.

“We are charged to get ourselves engaged in four thematic areas of infrastructure, sanitation, economy and social development. We are talking of security and crime control and then we are talking of cultural promotion,” he said.

The Ministry will administer the Zongo Development Fund which among other things is expected to empower Zongo communities and elevate their living standards.

Though $50 million dollars has been allocated to the Fund, many have questioned its impact on earmarked communities so far.

“We are trying to set up the secretariat, Zongo Development Fund Secretariat; we are to set it up, set up the board, and then the Secretariat will need its office to start work,” he said.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP), promised to establish a Zongo Development Fund to regenerate Zongo communities across the country.

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By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Zongo development to focus on infrastructure, sanitation – Boniface appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

They are to explain their request for a Gonjaland region over the years.

The Convention People’s Party’s (CPP) 2012 Presidential candidate, Dr. Abu Sakara Foster, Buipewura Abdulai Jinapor and Lepowura M.N.D Jawula are the lead advocates.

[contextly_sidebar id=”6Cr4HwJ0c2Rc4XACjvYcXTVqNQuC2KHn”]The creation of Gonjaland region dominated the speeches of the Overlord of Gonjaland, Yagbonwura Tuntumba Boresa I ahead of the 2016 polls.

He reiterated it when President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo paid courtesy calls on him during his two “Thank you” tours of the Northern Region.

The President assured him, but admonished them to meet the constitutional requirement of 80% votes at a Referendum.

Some concerned youth of the area have since embarked on a vigorous civic education there.

Gonjaland at a glance

The Gonjaland is densely populated by Gonjas and other minority tribes, and it is the biggest in Northern Region in terms of land.

It has seven districts comprising West Gonja (Damongo), Central Gonja (Buipe), East Gonja (Salaga), North Gonja (Daboya), Bole-Bamboi, Sawla-Tuna-Kalba and Kpandai.

Apart from the Mole National Park and the mysterious Laribanga Mosque, the area is endowed with gold, bauxite and other mineral resources.

River Oti, Black and White Volta, and other water confluence move through the Gonjaland traditional area.

The Savannah Cement (SAVACEM) factory, as well as the Bulk Oil Storage Transport (BOST) plant, are located there.

Former President John Dramani Mahama, incumbent Minister for Zongo and Inner Cities Development, Alhaji Boniface Abubakari Sadique, Minister for Gender and Children Affairs, Otiko Afisah Djaba and the Managing Director of Ghana Water Company Limited, Dr. Clifford Braimah are some of the famous personalities from Gonjaland.
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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Gonjaland delegation to meet commission on new regions today appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This exercise saw the retention of some ministries, the creation of new ones, and the scraping of others, as well as the merging of some into single ministries.

Those pitching camp with the president did not see anything untoward about the 110 ministries. They consider the President’s action as necessary for the attainment of the New Patriotic Party’s campaign pledges. Thus, to that section of the political divide, it was a prudent decision on the part of His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

However, those opposed to the political persuasion of the president cried foul. They claimed that this number of ministers is the most bloated and unprecedented in the history of the country’s democracy.

Civil Society Organisations were not left unperturbed either. They too were drawn into the debate on the number of ministers, relevance or otherwise of certain ministries and how to safeguard the State’s kitty.

While some of them supported the president’s move, others were sceptical, whereas certain sections avoided the controversy and took the middle course.

However, the President, in his inaugural speech assured Ghanaians that he “shall protect the public purse by insisting on value-for-money in all public transactions. Public service is just that – service and not an avenue for making money.  Money is to be made in the private sector, not the public. Measures will be put in place to ensure this.”

Over a certain period of time – after the President’s appointment and Parliament’s vetting and subsequent approval of the ministers – the media, most especially radio, was awash with the topic.

Some see a government of 110 ministers as commendable while others are raising the issue of the relevance of some new portfolios. However, the interest of the Zongo dweller in all this is how his or her situation would be improved. This is the pledge made by President Nana Addo.

Since the announcement of the newly created Ministry of Inner City and Zongo Development, in addition to the promise of setting up of a Zongo Development Fund, the average Zongo dweller has been enthused and excited.  His predicaments have, at least, attracted the president’s attention.

However, the dust is not settled as the minister is yet to have an office and the personnel and logistics that are necessary for running a ministry. Nevertheless, the Zongo is inundated with discussions on expectations of the interventions of the ministry and the fund to their wellbeing. The Minister has been touring Zongo communities across the country to assess the development needs of Zongo dwellers. Reports indicate that, with the exception of the Greater Accra Region, nine regions have so far had their share of the consultative meetings.

Interestingly, another twist to the issue is that the “Inner City” is truncated in most of this intercourse making only the Zongo look like the sole beneficiary of the ministry.

The inhabitants of Zongos are mostly sons and daughters of migrants from the sub-region, notably Nigeria. These migrants served in the Gold Coast Constabulary, Gold Coast Police Force and were also part of the West African Frontier Force during the First and Second World Wars. Some of them served as farm hands in cocoa plantations and labourers in the gold mines and the public sector as well.

It is important to note that before the establishment of the Ministry of Inner City and Zongo Development, the “position” of the Zongo and its “indigenes” in the country’s development is blurred and hazy.  Depending on which angle one is battling the issue, matters concerning the Zongo attract negligible, sometimes negative, publicity.

However, over a period of time, the Zongo dweller has become politically conscious and therefore wants his/her share of development.

With coming into being of the ministry, Zongo dwellers would certainly not pretend to be unselfish. They recognize the benefit of the ministry in the development of their cherished “constituency,” the Zongo.  Some refer to it as the 11^th Region.

My position on Zongo development, the ministry and fund is that of ambivalence and that I do not see the benefit as entirely tangible.

One of the major benefits, to me, is a clear recognition and admission that there is a “carved” constituency whose constituents ordinarily could not put claim to historical ownership of mass of land as theirs.

For long the people of Zongo descent could not come out boldly to say that Darkuman, Nima, Shukura, Asawasi, Ashaiman, Nyakrom etc. are their hometowns just because they do not belong to an ethnic group that is classified as indigenous. Neither of their lingua franca is identified as one of the languages recognised as Ghanaian. In most situations, such as filling forms for passport, national identity card, etc., they churn out inappropriate biodata. They thus feel marginalised.

Some politicians, as a result, shrewdly take advantage of this situation and position themselves and their partisan persuasions as “lovers” and “protectors” of the Zongo dweller. They adopt this ploy by giving it historical and political colouration.

Meanwhile, it is believed that the Ministry of Inner City and Zongo Development would bid farewell to the marginalisation and a fable of deporting people of Zongo origin.

The ancestors of the inhabitants of the Zongo migrated to the Gold Coast more than two centuries before the founding of the country called Ghana. The creation of the ministry has hence further thrown the relevance of the Zongo into sharp relief.

Conversely, as a nationalist, I perceive the creation of the new ministry as superfluous. It is only a shrewd way of dissipating and misdirecting scarce national resources. The memories of how abysmal the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) performed still linger in our minds.

A well-intended intervention to bridge the development deficit between the North and the South was brought down crumbling to its knees by sons and daughters of those expected to benefit from such lofty and noble project. Therefore, when the president introduced the minister, Abubakar Saddique Boniface, as the darling boy of the Zongo I become edgy.

I visualize how former president John Dramani Mahama tried to repackage and rebrand SADA but to no avail. SADA’s image, like a perishable commodity, had already gone sour and it was one minute too late to salvage.

Would it be then out of place to say that the intended purpose for which the ministry is created could well be tackled by some existing institutions? The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, which is seen as the epitome of decentralisation, comprises the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).

The main function of these assemblies is to bring governance, vis-à-vis development, to the people. The Ministry of Local Government has part of its mission statement as follows: “The Ministry exists to ensure good governance and balanced development of Metropolitan, Municipal and District assemblies.”

The Zongo, ostensibly, is not one area situated within a specific geographical location but dispersed within the assemblies. And to enhance the socio-economic as well as the human development of these localities, the central government must adequately strengthen the assemblies.

The Zongo Development Fund could, for that matter, be channelled through the assemblies for the specific development of the Zongos under an Affirmative Action with a legislative backing. This approach, to me, would go a long way to “protect the public purse by insisting on value-for-money in all public transactions”.

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By Abubakar Garba Osuman

The post Of Zongo development, the Ministry and the Fund [Article] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Citi Sports Gary Al-Smith who is in Brazil said  the two were sacked for fighting at the team’s training two days ago. There had been reports that Kevin Prince Boateng had exchanged words with the Coach Akwasi Appiah.

According to Al-Smith, Kevin Prince Boateng swore at the coach and that led to back and forth exchanges something Akwasi Appiah did not take lightly. The two were given 30 minutes to leave the team’s camp Brasilia.

It is unclear how the sacking of the two will impact on the rest of the team who will be playing a major game on Thursday. The team had earlier threatened to boycott the Ghana-Portugal match if their appearance fees were not paid on time.

Read full details of the story by Gary Al-Smith.

Meanwhile the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has suspended both players indefinitely.

By: CitiSports Team

The post KPB and Muntari sacked from Black Stars camp appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.