President John Mahama has stated that the establishment of sheanut processing factories for the three Northern regions is on course.

"As you are aware, we promised that we will build a sheanut processing plant in each of the three Northern regions. We've built the first one in Buipe in the Northern region and as I speak it's providing jobs. Women who pick the sheanuts are taking them there and the sheanuts are being processed and the shea butter is being exported. And so we intend to build two more of those plants- one in the Upper West and one in the Upper East Region so that we can maximize the value addition of our sheanuts."

The President gave the assurance after Naba Segri Bewong, president of the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs, welcomed him to the House of Chiefs on the sec­ond day of his "Accounting to the People Tour" of the Upper East Region, where he had appealed to the Presi­dent to honour his promise to establish a sheanut process­ing factory in the Upper East Region.

"We believe that if the sheanut industry is given the needed attention, it will help a lot to curb the migration of our people, especially the youth, to the cities and big towns for non-existent jobs.

President Mahama also announced that the Saudi gov­ernment had approved the Phase Two of the Bolgatanga Hospital expansion and that government was preparing the documentation for approval by Cabinet and Parlia­ment for the phase to commence.

This is expected to make the hospital a proper regional facility that can provide quality healthcare to the people of the region.

Other activities on the second day of his tour included the inauguration of a Boys' Dormitory for the Fumbisi Senior High School.

He also cut the sod for the construction of Chuchuli- ga-Sadema-Weisi-Nakong road and Navrongo-Tumu road.

He also inaugurated the expanded Navrongo Water Supply System.