UNDP SPENDS $10 MILLION IN THE NORTH (Page 21)

Story: Zakaria Alhassan, Tamale

Out of the $12 million earmarked for disbursement to flood victims in the north, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has so far expended $10 million to help in the immediate alleviation of the plight of the people.
The fund was used in the emergency supply of food, medicine, provision of temporary shelters and water purification facilities, among other interventions.
The UNDP Resident Representative, Daouda Toure, who announced this in Tamale, explained that, the initiative formed part of the first image of response for the flood victims and that there would be other forms of support to them in the coming months.
He was addressing a roundtable to fashion out a blue print on special initiative on sustainable development of northern Ghana in Tamale.
The meeting was convened by the Office of the President in collaboration with the National Development Commission and facilitated by the Institute for Policy Alternatives, a Tamale-based think-tank.
The two-day meeting was attended by various stakeholders, including Ministers of State, the Northern caucus in Parliament, the United Nations Systems and other development partners.
According to the Resident Representative, the next line of action after the disbursement was how to ensure the restoration of livelihoods through the provision of farming inputs.
“Our long term vision would also evolve around transformative changes through the provision of dams for irrigation purposes to enable the people farm all year round instead of the current three months, and the creation of income generating activities to improve on their well-being,” he added.
Mr Toure acknowledged the devastating impact of the floods on the people, particularly the vulnerable and expressed the commitment of his outfit to the successful implementation of government initiative and those of other stakeholders in ensuring sustainable solutions to the challenges facing the people.
He further noted that, in spite of all the support offered the victims, the people were still in dire need of assistance “we are surely not doing it rightly and we need to move quickly to do more to achieve the desired impact.”
The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, observed that the floods had also succeeded in sweeping away all the gains made over the years.
“As we deliberate, let us remember that in most of our communities there is no water to drink, there are not enough schools and teaching and learning materials and that we lack basic development facilities to grow,” he stated.
The minister however, expressed appreciation to the Chief Advisor to the President, Mrs Mary Chinnery Hesse, for her personal efforts and commitment to the establishment of the ¢25 billion seed money for the development of the north.
“This is a window of opportunity for us to repackage, re-distribute and to correct distortions and imbalances in the national development agenda,” he intimated.
Alhaji Idris, however, observed that for the necessary impact to be made for the accelerated development of the north there was the need for peace to prevail at all times since insecurity and development were not bedfellows.
He said the need for the maintenance of law and order was not only the responsibility of politicians and therefore entreated all to join hands in achieving lasting peace in the area.