Bolgatanga, May 22, GNA - Mr. Mark Woyongo, Upper East Regional Minister on Friday reiterated that Government was committed to the development of the three Northern Regions.

The Minister gave the assurance at separate meetings, when he addressed Regional, Constituency Executives, supporters and sympathisers of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Bolgatanga and Bongo. He explained that due to poverty in the three Northern Regions, Government was developing programmes to bring more development to the area. He said Government would be constructing a water treatment plant at the Tono Irrigation dam in Navrongo, at a cost of 40 million Euros, to supply water to Navrongo and its surroundings areas.

Mr Woyongo said the Vea Irrigation Dam water treatment plant in Bolgatanga would also be expanded at a cost of five million dollars, to supply water to Bongo to rectify the problem of high fluoride content in the water table in the Bongo District.

Two hundred boreholes, he noted, would also be provided for the Region. Mr Woyongo said 24 kilometres of road in the Bolgatanga Municipality would be provided with streetlights, which was already ongoing and would be completed soon.

Mr. Woyongo said under the electrification project Government had also earmarked all villages in the three Northern Regions to be connected to the national grid.

He stated that Government had also taken upon itself to provide classroom infrastructure to 4,000 schools, presently under trees nationwide. He said 31 under trees schools in the Region had already been earmarked and advertised and the contract would be awarded by the close of the month for the project to take off.

Mr Woyongo said to rectify accommodation problems that would be faced by students of the Senior High Schools due to increase from three years to four, the government had directed additional accommodation to be provided to accommodate the students during this academic year in September, and the Region would be benefiting with 14 schools for a start. He noted that the Region had also been allocated two million exercise books and 9,000 schoo1 uniforms to be distributed to school children in the Region, and all the nine Districts, are to benefit from the programme. He indicated that government was committed to making the country self-sufficient in food production and would construct additional dams in all the Districts in the Region and de-silt old ones to augment agriculture production.

Under the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), which is to benefit the three Northern Regions, more road networks would be constructed linking farms to market centres, and more schools and hospitals also would be built. He added that Government had also restructured the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) by introducing new modules to engage the teaming unemployed youth in profitable ventures. The Minister therefore entreated Ghanaians to exercise restraint for the numerous interventions to start bearing fruits, to improve upon the living standards. 22 May 10