Mr. S. K. Boafo, Ashanti Regional Minister, has inaugurated a Community Learning Centre at the Jachie Training Centre of the Physically Disabled for the students to be trained in Information Communication Technology (ICT).

The centre is equipped with eight computers estimated at ?205 million, while an amount of 35,000 dollars.

The establishment of the centre was the collaborative work between the Centre for the Development of People (CEDEP) and the Jachie Training Centre of the Physically Disabled with funds from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Inaugurating the centre as part of his two-days tour of the Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma district, Mr. Boafo, asked architects to take the needs of the disabled into account in designing buildings.

He asked the youth of the area to take advantage of the Centre to become computer literate.

The Regional Minister promised to contact the Otumfuo Education Fund to see how best it could assist the centre.

Miss Shallom Coleman, USAID Director, regretted that society discriminated against the disabled, which forced them into begging.

The disabled with skills could make a living for themselves and contribute towards national development, he said.

Miss Yaa Peprah Agyemang Amekudzi, Executive Director, said CEDEP established the Centre for people with disabilities to acquire Information Technology (IT) to enhance the ?employability of those who took advantage of the services.?

She expressed the hope that the centre would promote more interaction between the community and those with physical disabilities.

Mr. Osei Kwadwo, Director of the Community Learning Centre, said it was the only one chosen by the government to give skill training to the unemployed who were registered recently, under the Skills Training and Employment Programme in the Ashanti Region.

He enumerated a number of problems facing the centre including a place to sell their products in Kumasi and said it would manufacture both manual and hydraulic beds for the hospitals soon with the support of HELP GHANA, a German NGO.

Mr. Boafo announced that the Jachie-Pramso Senior Secondary School would be provided with facilities in line with government?s policy of upgrading one senior secondary school in each of the districts.

He told the students that humility was the key to success and should be humble and disciplined.

Nana Minta-Afari Bowak, headmaster, enumerated a number of problems and appealed to the Regional Minister for assistance to complete the three-classroom pavilion now at the roofing level, water project, a science laboratory, kitchen and accommodation and the girls.

At Brodekwano, the Regional Minister inspected a weak bridge and promised that it would be repaired as a matter of urgency.

Addressing a durbar of the chiefs and people of the town, Mr Boafo said it was the aim of the government to make life worth living and would develop infrastructure and repair old ones.

He said the rural-urban migration especially of the youth would end if the districts were developed and provided with facilities.

Mr. Kofi Britiwum, Ashanti Regional Director of Education, promised to send three more teachers to the Roman Catholic Primary school early January 2003.

Mr. Thomas Antwi-Adjei, Assemblyman for Brodekwan, said, the number one problem of the area was the bad nature roads explaining that the youth who had decided to stay in the town and farm were getting frustrated because vegetables they farmed got rotten due to the bad nature of the road.

He appealed to the Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma district assembly to build the proposed clinic for which the people had already provided sand, stones, gravel and blocks.