$1m per constituency to fund Development Authorities – Veep

• Posted on November 20, 2017
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has said the-soon-to-be established Development Authorities under the government’s Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme, will be funded through the one-million dollar per constituency disbursement to drive rural development.

He said the Development Authorities, which includes Northern Development Authority, Middle Belt Development Authority and the Coastal Development Authority, would receive funds equivalent to the number of constituencies that fell under them to implement their programmes.

He said the Northern Development Authority would receive the equivalent of 57 million dollars each year for its programmes.

Dr. Bawumia said this when he addressed the 18th congregation of the University for Development Studies (UDS) in Tamale on Saturday, where over 2000 students from Navrongo, Nyankpala and Tamale campuses of the UDS, graduated with various degrees and diplomas for the 2016/2017 academic year.

 “These development authorities will become the vehicles to drive the grassroots development that we seek… In this Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme, we are making sure that every constituency in the country every year, will obtain the equivalent of one million United States Dollars to meet basic needs of that constituency,” he said.

The Vice President, who expressed worry about the lack of access to potable water among other basic needs in many rural communities, said the government is positioning the Development Authorities to be the vehicle to drive rural development.

He urged the soon-to-be established Development Authorities to partner UDS in their quest to bring development to communities because UDS’ students stayed in the communities and understood their needs.

“I have already spoken about the unique nature of UDS graduates. You live in the rural areas and you have a unique understanding of the development issues in many of these rural areas. I am going to ask all the development authorities to partner with the UDS in this process of bringing the development to our people,” he said.

Dr. Bawumia said government was working to change the development paradigm of exclusion to inclusion of all in the country’s development process to ensure accelerated development.

He said this informed the implementation of the Free Senior High School programme, since education was key to equip all with knowledge to drive development.

He said the government would continue to work to address the infrastructural challenges facing UDS.

Professor Gabriel Ayum Teye, Vice-Chancellor of UDS, lamented the numerous infrastructural challenges facing the University, which according to him, forced the school to deny many qualified applicants admission.

Professor Teye said there were currently 44 uncompleted infrastructural projects at the University, some of which started 14 years ago.

By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah