Garu (U/E), April 14, GNA - The Garu-Tempane District Assembly (GTDA) spent nearly 120 million cedis in 2005 in sponsorship packages for students pursuing various courses as a top priority to develop its human resource for accelerated growth and development of the newly created district.

These included four medical students, 28 teacher trainees, five nurse trainees, six blind students, five brilliant needy students and 70 volunteer teachers.

Mr.Emmanuel Asigri, Garu-Tempane District Chief Executive (DCE), said this when the district took its turn at the People's Assembly at Garu on Thursday.

He said by developing its human resources, the district would be at an advantage to plan and implement pragmatic policies that would help improve the quality of lives of the people.

Mr Asigri enumerated projects such as infrastructure facilities for education, rehabilitation of dams to boost agricultural activities, construction of quarters for health personnel in rural communities and heads of departments under the rural housing scheme.

Others are the re-shaping of feeder roads, KVIP construction at Kongo and Woriyanga, four boreholes, each at Tempane Secondary School, Dusibuliga, Talkiapak-Ninsum and Kolbire, and the construction of two chief palaces at Garu and Tempane.

He said the assembly had fully completed a police barracks project to improve the presence of security personnel in the area due to its strategic location and to reduce crime wave. The Regional Minister, Mr. Boniface Gambila, reaffirmed the government's policy of bringing development to the doorsteps of rural communities through their active participation in the decision-making processes.

He said as a government that was accountable to the people, it would ensure transparency in its administration, adding that the People's Assembly was a platform for all to question the government on the running of the country's affair and also to contribute to nation building.

He said the government would not achieve its intended purpose of developing rural communities if the people themselves failed to discard their apathetic attitude because of partisan politics. Many of the questions were centred on the poor nature of roads, lack of teachers and health personnel, as well as the need for dams for dry-season farming.

A questioner also wondered what would be the result on girl-child education where boys and girls in the only Senior Secondary School in the district, were being made to share a common hostel facility.