Koforidua, April 27, GNA - The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Yaw Barimah, has urged Ghanaians to make sacrifices now for the country's future development.

He said it was in this regard that the government was taking seemingly unpalatable measures for the accelerated and sturdy socio-economic development and to raise the per capita income from 400 to 1,000 dollars by 2010.

Mr Barimah was addressing the last of 17 district People's Assemblies held in the Eastern Region at Koforidua on Monday, during which he and some Ministers of State and Regional Heads of Department outlined government policies and answered questions on pertinent issues. Issues discussed included the three priority areas of the government's focus - human resource development, private sector development and good governance - as well as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and the petroleum de-regulation policy.

The District Assemblies mounted photo exhibitions to showcase the development projects undertaken during the past four years.

The New Juaben Municipal Chief Executive, Nana Kwasi Adjei Boateng, who briefed the forum on the development projects in the municipality, announced that the Municipal Health Insurance Scheme would be launched on Thursday for premium holders to begin enjoying the benefit from May 1.

During question time, a teacher complained that for five years now basic schools were made to teach the pre-technical subject for Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), yet no text books had been provided by the Curriculum Research Department of the Ministry of Education and Sports, except those published by private individuals which did not match with the content of the syllabus.

In reply, the Eastern Regional Director of Education, Mrs Ewurabena Ahwoi, stated that the printing of the textbooks was put on competitive tender for the private sector to publish them.

In an answer to another question, the Eastern Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Ebenezer Appiah Denkyirah, the local Nurses Training College would expand its intake from the current 77 to 100 as from next academic year and urged District Assemblies to sponsor trainees who could go back to work in their districts of sponsorship after training.

The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Hackman Owusu Agyeman, asked those who had chieftaincy disputes to solve them amicably to maintain the peace in the area.

The Krontihene of New Juaben, Baffour Adjei Tuffuor, chaired the forum.