Tamale, May 29, GNA - Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, Northern Regional Minister on Monday said Government had released four million dollars towards development projects in the Northern Region.

He said the Northern Regional Co-ordinating Council in consultation with the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) had decided to use the money to complete the multi billion-market complex at Aboabo, a suburb of Tamale that had been abandoned.

Alhaji Idris announced this at a sod cutting ceremony for the construction of a 20.3 billion cedis road project at Aboabo as part of the phase II of Urban Environmental Project to improve drainage system in Tamale.

Present at the ceremony was Mr Stephen Asamoah Boateng, Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Environment (MLGRDE), who is on a five-day official visit to the Northern Region. Alhaji Idris said, "The Government has the people in the region at heart and released the money to undertake development projects to improve their living standards."

He said completion of the project was in line with Government's development agenda to provide each region with a well-resourced market with modern facilities.

Mr Mohammed Amin Adam, Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) said Government was determined to develop every sector of the country to justify the confidence Ghanaians reposed in it. He said construction of the road at Aboabo would solve the sanitation problems in the area since the assembly spent more than two billion cedis on sanitation related problems every quarter in the metropolis.

Mr Adam said despite the difficulties involved in maintaining sanity within the metropolis, Tamale was adjudged the most clean area in Ghana and commended management of Zoom Lion Company Limited (ZLCL) for maintaining sanity in the metropolis.

He said in addition to improvement in the road network the assembly would construct 49 places of convenience in the metropolis to improve sanitation.

Mr Asamoah Boateng, who cut the sod for work to commence on the project appealed to people within the community to serve as watchdogs to ensure the materials were not diverted.

Mr Asamoah Boateng also cut the sod for the construction of a 50,000-dollar satellite market complex for the people of Kukuo under the Community Based Rural Development Project (CBRDP).

Addressing members and staff of the assembly, he told them to be agents of change to transform their communities. Mr Asamoah Boateng also addressed members and staff of Savelugu/Nanton District Assembly.

He advised them to work as a team to develop their communities to win confidence from the people who voted them to the assembly. Mr Asamoah Boateng also inspected and inaugurated a 24-bed ward built for the Savelugu Hospital by the assembly at about 1.3 billion cedis.