The Chiefs and People of the newly created Pusiga District in the Upper East Region on Thursday celebrated the inauguration of the District with pomp and pageantry.

At the inauguration to represent President Mills were Mr. Dominic Azumah Azembe, Minister of State at the Presidency, Mr. Stephen Amanor –Kwau, a Member of Parliament and Mr. Musah Abdulai, Bawku Municipal Chief Executive.

“Naba Ibrahim Ayumah Aguri, Chief of Pusiga, remarked in his address that “We the chiefs and the good people of the newly created District wish to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to His Excellency President J.E.A Mills and the NDC for giving us a district”.

The Chief observed that the creation of the District demonstrated government’s commitment to bringing good governance to the door steps of the people, adding that, it has also provided the area with a lot of developmental projects including schools, boreholes and drainage systems among other projects.

He said with the introduction of the fertilizer subsidy to farmers in 2009, it has increased food production in the District as it can now export crops like maize, sorghum and soya beans to the south and other neighbouring countries.

The Chief appealed to government to provide more dams in the area since the District experiences only one rainy season, to help the farmers during the dry season, adding that “it would also curb the upsurge of youth migration to the southern sectors.”

He called on the newly created District Assembly to liaise with the Ministry of Tourism to develop the site of the Kulungugu bomb attack on the late first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and the Naa Gbewa Shrine, as tourist sites in Pusiga to generate employment for the people in the area.

He called on the people in the area to honour their tax obligations to enable the Assembly to initiate more development projects and appealed to Non-Governmental Organizations and businesses to invest in the area.

The Chief urged the youth to stay away from conflict since it retards development and also scar away potential investors.

Mr. Azembe reiterated the need for the chiefs and people to co-exist peacefully and noted that “it was the only way to develop the District faster.”

Mr. Musah Abdulai, the Bawku Municipal Chief Executive, indicated that the achievements made by the government in the area of Education, the School Feeding Programme, Roads, Electricity, Water and Sanitation within a period of 3 years within Pusiga and the country as a whole ensured that Pusiga and other places achieved the status of Districts.

The Pusiga District shares borders with Burkina Faso and Togo and this would help promote businesses and accelerate the development of the area. **