Walewale(N/R), April 25, GNA - A member of the Council of State, Hajia Fati Jawula, has urged youth associations in the North to collaborate with their district assemblies to find ways of halting the exodus of young girls to the South.

"These girls who work as head porters, otherwise known as "kayayo" in the big towns, are subjected to all forms of abuse and exposed to numerous dangers including contracting AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases."

Hajia Fati was speaking at an Easter congress of the Mamprugu Youth Association (MAYA) in Walewale at the weekend. She said an increasing number of young girls from Mamprugu have now joined the drift of Northern rural youth to seek greener pastures in the Southern cities, notably Accra and Kumasi.

Hajia Fati acknowledged that given the present economic circumstances, it would not be easy curbing the trend of at the moment. She entreated district assemblies in the area to support programmes that would generate employment, using their share of the common fund. She also urged MAYA to work in concert with non-governmental organisations (NGO's) like Neighbours in Need Foundation, Action Aid, New Energy and ADRA, to find lasting solution to the problem.

The Council of State member appealed to parents in the Mamprugu area to encourage their daughters to remain at home to undertake income generating activities, rather than sending them away to seek material gains in other regions or in neighbouring countries.

"Of what use will it be if these girls bring home trunks full of wax prints and money, only for us to dig their graves a few months afterwards?" She expressed dismay at the high level of illiteracy in the two Mamprusi districts saying the issues of poverty and retarded development could be resolved if the people tackle the problem of illiteracy with all seriousness.

Hajia Fati appealed to the elders of Mamprugu and the leadership of MAYA to work out acceptable solutions to the Wungu and Gbandaa chieftaincy disputes. She also advised the youth to let MAYA remain an instrument of development, adding that "politicisation of the association will be one sure way of killing it".

The acting president of MAYA, Mr Mahama Wuni, said the congress which had as its theme 'Fostering unity for development in the 21st century, aimed at bringing sons and daughters of Mamprugu together to take stock of the achievements and failures of MAYA over the years.

"It also aims at drawing attention to the economic potentials of Mamprugu, and to seek support for the exploitation of these resources for both local and national development."

The President specifically cited the large deposits of artefacts in the "overseas" areas of West Mamprusi which could be preserved to promote tourism. He expressed MAYA's appreciation to the government for upgrading the Walewale health centre to a hospital status, as well as efforts being made by government to open up the overseas zone.

Mr Wuni however appealed to government to provide small-scale dams in various parts of the two Mamprusi districts to curb the exodus of the youth to the South during the dry season.

In a message read on his behalf, the paramount chief of the Mamprusi traditional area, Naa Mahamadu Abdulai Gamn, advised youth groups to refrain from interfering in chieftaincy matters.

He also advised the people of Mamprugu not rpt not to engage in acts that would bring violence during the forthcoming elections. Earlier in a welcoming address, the district chief executive of West Mamprusi, Mr Karim Nachina, commended the leadership of MAYA for reviving the association after a four-year period of inactivity.

He urged the congress to deliberate on issues that would promote unity and development in Mamprugu. An appeal for funds in support of MAYA's programmes yielded five million cedis.