ZAVZUGU OPENS DOOR FOR INVESTORS (PAGE 20)

THE chiefs and people in the Zabzugu/Tatale District have opened their doors to prospective investors to come and mine the large quantities of iron ore deposits in the area.
They acknowledged that the mining of the mineral would not only give the nation the needed foreign exchange, but would also afford the large army of unemployed youth in the district to be gainfully engaged.
That, they said, would enable them to better their lots and improve on the socio-economic development of the district and the Northern Region at large.
The mineral that was mined by the Russians in the 1960s was eventually abandoned following the 1966 coup that toppled the Convention Peoples’ Party (CPP) government led by Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
The Presiding Member of the Zabzugu/Tatale District Assembly, Mr Edward Dawuni Atta Abebe said this during an interaction with the chief of Seini, Obore Chamanya Poadi at Tatale.
The district shares boundaries with the Republic of Togo to the east, Yendi Municipality to the west, Nanumba North and South and the Nkwanta Districts to the south and Saboba District to the north.
Ninety per cent of the people in the area are farmers who are engaged in yam, guinea corn, millet, maize, beans, cassava, groundnuts and cowpea cultivation.
Mr Abebe further observed that the district’s economy was dominated by small-scale unorganised farmers who depended mainly on labour intensive production techniques.
He stated that lack of access roads, farm inputs, market, storage and credit facilities were seriously affecting the business of farming in the area.
The presiding member, therefore, appealed to the government to help expedite action by removing those bottlenecks to ensure growth of the sector.
“I will however like to commend the assembly and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture for making efforts to facilitate the modernisation of agriculture in this area that has led to the increase in livestock production and enhancement of the capacity of agriculture extension agents in the area,” he stated.
For his part, the Sheini chief also appealed to the government to facilitate the process that would attract investors to the district.
He said the area was enjoying peace as the various ethnic groups were co-existing harmoniously.