Tumu, 12 Nov., GNA -Vice President John Dramani Mahama has appealed to the people of the Upper West Region to protect the environment from bush fires and other forms of destruction.

He said with the onset of the dry season, the environment would experience bushfires and called on the people to collectively resolve to put a stop to bush burning to help replenish the soil for higher yields needed to enhance the wealth of the farmer and the nation. Vice President Mahama made the appeal at the Outdooring of Kuoro Richard Babini Kanton VI, Paramount Chief of the Tumu Traditional Area at Tumu on Thursday.

He said the Sissala land mass was fertile and had the potential for the cultivation of food and cash crops in large quantities to feed the region. He said the rich land should be jealously protected as a heritage to be passed on to future generations for their livelihoods and urged the people to avoid activities that would put the environment in danger. Vice President Mahama therefore called on traditional authorities, assembly members, unit committee members and the entire citizenry of the region to adopt strategies to halt unhealthy practices which threatens their survival.

He commended the Sissala East District Assembly and Plan Ghana, a non-governmental organization, for providing logistics to educate the people against bush burning.

Vice President Mahama announced that government would soon establish the Savanna Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) to provide adequate resources to bridge the development gap between the south and the north. He said the Sissala East District would benefit from five boreholes at Wellembelle, Bugubelle, Sakai, Kong and Pieng while the Tumu-Pieng-Bugubelle road, as well as the Dobilizon-Sumboru-Banu and Nabugbele -Dolibizan roads would be rehabilitated.

Construction of bridges between Kasana and Tanvelli and Pina and Dolibizan would also be provided to facilitate the movement of goods and people.

Vice President Mahama said government would tackle the tarring of the Tumu-Navrongo and Tumu-Wa road as well as the Sawla-Damongo-Fulfilso road. Rehabilitation of broken down dams and the construction of new ones would be carried out to provide water for irrigation purpose to stem youth migration.

He said government would intensify rural electrification next year and gave the assurance that communities in the Sissala East District would benefit from the programme.

Vice President Mahama announced that government has upgraded the Tumu Secondary/Technical School into a fully fledged boarding institution to help promote education in the district.

On health, he said government was aware of shortage of medical doctors and other paramedics as well as other problems militating against quality health delivery to the people in the district. He said government was exploring ways to address the shortage of doctors in the region and advised the regional authorities to devise ways and means of maintaining the few medical personnel available and use their services judiciously to benefit the people without unduly overburdening them.

Vice President Mahama said government was considering alternative ways of motivating doctors who would work in rural areas and recommended doctors for the sacrificial services they were rendering to the people in the region. 12 Nov. 09

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