Bolgatanga, June 15, GNA- A youth forum on Government Policy interventions for Youth Empowerment and Regional Development, has ended in Bolgatanga with the call on government to streamline the award of contracts meant for the North, to fast track the development of the area.

The forum organised by Northern Patriots in Research and Advocacy, said contracts should be awarded to those who have the capacity to execute them. The participants observed that contracts awarded in Accra to be executed in the Northern, Upper East and Upper regions, attracts technical difficulties like the co-operation of contractors with regional engineers in terms of supervision to ensure that projects are executed to perfection.

"Most contracts that are awarded by the central government to be executed at the regional levels are usually done poorly," they said. The participants said contractual works on dam projects in the Upper East Region revealed shoddy works. The forum appealed to the government to decentralize the awards of contracts so that technical personnel in the regions could exercise their supervisory responsibilities.

The Participants appealed to district assemblies in the North to sponsor students in tertiary schools particularly those pursuing teaching and medical courses and bond them to serve in their localities after completion.

The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Mark Woyongo assured the participants that their concerns would be taken into consideration. He expressed disappointment about the way contracts were awarded from Accra and reiterated that recent dam contracts in the region were not properly executed.

The Minister said he would ensure that students pursuing medicine, nursing and teaching courses were sponsored and bonded by the assemblies, so that they could augment the human resource base of the region.

He entreated the youth to embrace national initiatives to offer them skill training and employment opportunities such as the National Youth Employment Programme. Mr. Woyongo admonished the youth to practice safe sex in order not to contract HIV/AIDS and avoid criminal activities like cyber fraud. 15 June 09