General News of Saturday, 18 January 2014

Source: XYZ

Mahama reiterates: I won’t disappoint Ghanaians

President John Dramani Mahama on Friday renewed his commitment to serve the country diligently to achieve all the development goals in the coming years.

He said, "You all did well by voting massively for me in the 2012 Presidential election and I will not forget what you did, and will not disappoint you in my administration."

President Mahama was addressing a mini- durbar of chiefs and people of Nalerigu as part of his two-day official visit to the Northern Region.

The durbar was also attended by Ministers of State, Members of Parliament in the Region, District Chief Executives, National Democratic Congress leadership and supporters in the area.

President Mahama said the government would invest an excess of one billion dollars in road construction to open the country to businesses and investors.

He said the Walewale/Gambaga/Nalerigu road would be improved to connect the Bunkrugu and Nakpanduri stretch of the road to facilitate the movement of goods and services in the area.

President Mahama promised to work around the clock to help reduce interest rates on loans to enable businesses to flourish all over the country.

He said the current state where interest rates were soaring everyday was not conductive for the development and growth of enterprises and gave the assurance that all legal measures would be explored to ensure that businesses grow.

The President commended the Nayiri of Mamprugu for maintaining peace and unity among the ethnic groups in the area and appealed to him to extend that feat to Bawku and Dagbon to bring peace and unity to the people.

"There cannot be any significant development without peace and I want to thank the Nayiri for maintaining peace in the traditional area over the years,” President Mahama said.

He said the government had accredited the Gambaga College of Education and it would be part of the Colleges that would benefit from government support.

Naa John Awuni, Representative of the Mamprugu overlord, commended the government for upgrading the Gambaga Nursing Training College into a diploma awarding institution and gave the assurance that the upgrading would provide the necessary work force for health facilities in the Region and beyond.

He appealed to the government to complete an assembly hall complex that was initiated by the late General Ignatius Kutu Achempong regime in the 1970s.

Dr Alfred Tia Sugri, a Deputy Minister of Health, said although President Mahama won in all the five constituencies in the area only two NDC members of parliament won and called on the people to change the trend in subsequent general elections.

He said 33 basic schools were constructed in the Mamprusi East District since NDC took over power.