Kombusgo (UE), Sept. 26, GNA - The Bolgatanga Zonal Local Civic Coalition (LCC), has appealed to the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly to as a matter of urgency construct a parking lot to accommodate vehicles that use Bolgatanga as a transit. The Civic Coalition said that the absence of a parking lot in the Upper East Region was one of the major causes of road accidents in the area especially in the Municipality.

The Group made the call on Friday at a meeting held at Kumbusgo in the Municipality to discuss developmental issues and to find solutions to problems facing the region.

It explained that because of lack of parking lots in the region, majority of drivers who used Bolgatanga as a transit point to Togo, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, parked their vehicles indiscriminately, causing congestion and making the movement of other road users very difficult, resulting in accidents in the Municipality. The LCC said the construction of such a facility in Bolgatanga and other areas in the region would ensure the proper parking of vehicles especially haulage trucks to help curtail the carnage on the roads and generate more revenue for the Assembly since drivers would pay parking fees. The Capacity building Officer of the LCC Project, Mr. James Awini, said Group would continue to build the capacity of members to enable them to carry out their duties effectively. Mr. Edwin N Batiir, Project Development Officer of LCC, said that the LCC Project would facilitate information sharing and awareness creation in communities, dissemination of information on District Assembly plans, budgets, programmes, activities, and help promote participatory planning and decision making among others. The Bolgatanga Municipal LCCs comprising Sumbrungu, Zuarungu and Bolgatanga Zonal LCCs have drawn up a programme to sensitize people on the effects of rural-urban migration of girls from the area especially school children to the southern sector of the country. They would also liaise with the Ghana Private Road and Transport Union and other stakeholders to fight against migrating of girls from the north to south.

The formation of the LCC was facilitated by Foundation for Grassroots Initiatives Africa, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) working to promote good governance and empowerment of the marginalized to enable them to participate in decision making, and provide capacity building of groups to undertake activities in the Upper East Region. 26 Sept 09