Koforidua, Oct 8, GNA - Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, the Minister of Regional Co-operation and NEPAD, has said the failure of previous development plans had made the people to lose faith in similar ventures such as the NEPAD, African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and the West African Monetary Zone's (WAMZ) Eco.

He said it was because of such experiences that the government found it necessary to let the people at the grassroots fully understand the new three initiatives ''as credible visions of a better tomorrow that they have to take ownership of to ensure successful implementation.''

Dr Apraku said this when opening a two-day workshop for training of district resource persons for public education on the NEPAD, APRM and Eco in five districts of the Eastern Region at Koforidua.

The training workshop was the third in a series in designated zones involving all districts to build the capacity of the resource persons drawn from the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and civil society representatives.

He said Ghana's ability to play a leading role in the implementation of the NEPAD, APRM and the introduction of the Second Monetary Zone (Eco) involving Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Gambia and Guinea was contingent on the extent to which its citizens were empowered to ensure their effective implementation.

Dr Apraku outlined some achievements of the three-year-old NEPAD in Ghana the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, NEPAD's e-Schools ICT Project and international railway and roads networks and urged the participants to educate the public on them.

Nana Adjei Boateng, the New Juaben Municipal Chief Executive, said since Africans could not afford to be marginalized in world trade and technological advancement there was the need for all stakeholders to commit themselves to ensure the successful implementation of the three programmes.

He said progress made in the developed countries could largely be attributed to their acceptance of regional co-operation and integration as the only way out for them.