Zuarungu (Upper East) -- Vice President Aliu Mahama on Saturday advised local assemblies to invest the one billion cedis they recently received from the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) relief fund on single but major projects that best address their needs, rather than spending it on several minor projects.

He said the minor projects should be taken care of from the Common Fund. Vice President Mahama, who was addressing the chiefs and people of the Zuarungu Traditional Area, at the annual "Ndaa-Koya" Festival urged the district and municipal assemblies to identify strategies to involve the citizens in the selection and implementation of development projects.

"Ndaa-Koya," which literally means I have farmed and harvested, is thanksgiving festival, to show gratitude to God and the ancestors of the people of Zuarungu for a good harvest. It is also an occasion for stock taking and planning for the future.

Vice President Mahama urged Ghanaians, particularly traditional leaders, to take active interest in the utilisation of the HIPC relief funds to ensure that maximum benefits are derived from them.

He said, "The assemblymen and women together with the municipal and district authorities will decide on how to spend that money, but the people must be kept informed and indeed there should be a way for them to make some input."

The Vice President reiterated government's determination to entrench good governance and improve the standard of living of Ghanaians, and called for the support of all to move the nation into prosperity in freedom.

Responding to requests from the Zuarungu Naaba Charles Ayamga for the rehabilitation of roads and the provision of other amenities, Vice President Mahama announced that work would soon start on the Zuarungu- Moshie road and the local market that had already been awarded on contract.

He expressed the optimism that the tarring of roads in Central Zuarungu would also begin next year. Vice President Mahama gave the assurance that a permanent structure and accommodation facilities would be provided for their new police station, which he later commissioned in the course of the programme.

The people appealed to him when he attended their festival last year to ensure that they were provided with a police station. Educational institutions in the area, the Vice President said, would be rehabilitated under the Department For International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom's programme for the rehabilitation of schools.

On the rehabilitation of the once very vital Zuarungu Meat Factory, he assured them that the government was considering options as to whether to renovate the existing facility or build a new one, adding that the best decision would be taken in their interest and that of Ghana.

He urged them to maintain the peace in the area because it is a prerequisite for their progress. Naaba Ayamga expressed the determination of the people of Zuarungu to prioritise the provision of education as a means of socio-economic development of the area, saying the theme of the festival, "Rekindling our Glorious Past Through Education," reflected their goal.

He said education in the area, which benefited from the first batch of government schools established in the colonial era, had deteriorated to its lowest level.

"The schools provided quality education, thus making Zuarungu one of the most recognised intellectual centres in the North and indeed the whole country during the colonial period and early post independent Ghana," he said.

He, therefore, launched a 10-million-cedi education endowment fund to be funded from contributions of citizens of the area, and appealed to the government to support their efforts.