Vice President, Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur has assured chiefs and people of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) zone that the initiative (SADA) would be a great one in improve their living conditions.

The Vice President gave the assurance on Wednesday when addressing chiefs from the SADA zone as part of the on-going joint Ghana Institution of Engineers (GhIE) Engineering Week and first SADA Business and Investment Forum in Tamale.

The week-long forum, which opened on Tuesday and jointly organized by SADA and GhIE, was intended to focus on engineering solution to the transformation of the Northern Savannah Ecological Zone (NSEZ).

As part of the forum, there was an exhibition of various agro, business and engineering products to showcase the potentials of the SADA zone.

The chiefs were drawn from the Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Brong Ahafo and Volta Regions to attend the forum as part of steps by SADA to get a consensus of its stakeholders and development partners to network and promote business and development at the NSEZ.

Mr Amissah Arthur said there were many potentials in the SADA zone, adding that the forum, would amongst others help to market such potentials to attract the needed investment in the NSEZ for development.

Some of the potentials of the NSEZ included water, history and diverse culture, tourism opportunities, sun for energy, land for all sort of crops, a growing population, source of demand and a bridge between the southern part of the country and many West African neighbours.

He said SADA had the necessary leadership to deliver the potentials of the NSEZ for the benefit of the people and urged all to support SADA to succeed.

Alhaji Limuna Mohammed Muniru, Northern Regional Minister, described the SADA zone as “a sleeping giant” that needed to be awoken through integrated investments in human beings, infrastructure and business to transform the economic development of the zone and the country at large.

Alhaji Mohammed Muniru said the forum, therefore, “Will signal the beginning of great things to come through our legally mandated development agent-SADA.”

Mr Charles Abugre, Chief Executive Officer of SADA, said the new leadership of SADA had learnt from its past mistakes and would work to turn around the potentials of the SADA zone “to banish poverty”.

Speaking through a representative, the Regent of Dagbon, enumerated some of the potentials and challenges of the SADA zone and called for measures to rapidly develop the SADA zone for the benefit of all.