“A needle dwells in cloths but always complains of cold.” This is an adage that could best fit the situation of the Upper East Region which has abundance of natural resources but often described as one of the poorest regions in the country.
The region has several water bodies including Tono, Vea, Tamne Dams, Black and White Volta rivers, arable lands, huge gold deposits among others.
Alhaji Abubakari Inusah, the Chief Director of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), who addressed a Technical Committee at a meeting in Bolgatanga on behalf of the Regional Minister, wondered why the Region had so much natural resources but “unable to come out of the poverty situation.”
The meeting brought together officials from ICOUR, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Lands Commission, Engineers and traditional rulers, and offered them the opportunity to discuss the rehabilitation of the Vea Water Supply and Irrigation Scheme in the Bongo District.
He urged technical experts in the Region to harness the numerous natural resources to reverse the poverty tag on the Region.
“It is very sad that our data indicates that we are the poorest amidst these natural resources in the region, coupled with government’s efforts to support us change the narrative,” he said.
Alhaji Inusah noted for example, that if the Fumbisi Rice Valley was fully exploited, it could feed the entire country and change the living standards of residents.
He expressed worry about the importation of tomatoes from Burkina Faso, saying “Is it that we don’t have same technology to produce same quality to supply the entire nation?
“In fact, we need to think outside the box and as the Regional Minister always says we have to do things differently for different and better results.” he recalled.
He appealed to the construction firm to work on the Vea Water Supply and Irrigation Scheme, Rann-Luuk Limited to engage unskilled local labourers, especially women to enable them earn some money to cater for their needs.
Alhaji Inusah said the RCC would monitor the project to ensure value for money and prevent the situation where government would have to seek additional funds for rehabilitation work in the future.
He called on the Bongo District Assembly to effectively collaborate with traditional authorities in the area to avoid any possible land encroachment around the dam site, and advocated for more trees to be planted around the dam.
The Managing Director of Rann-Luuk Construction Limited, Mr. Jawad Abdul-Rakeed, assured stakeholders of quality civil engineering works on the project, and gave the assurance that they would consider the services of unskilled labour.