Accra, May 29, GNA - Mr Stephen Asamaoh-Boateng, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development-designate (MLGRD), on Monday said there was the need for formal training in all categories of professions to give people the right modules to enable them to come out of the poverty line.

He said education and training were key for every businessperson to make an impact and Ghana needed to consider this seriously. Mr Asamoah-Boateng said this when the Secretary-General of Afro-Asian Rural Development Organisation (AARDO), Mr Abdalla Yahia Adam, who was on a five-day official visit to Ghana, paid a courtesy call on him in his office.

He said Ghana was determined to make its governance system work and reflect in the pocket of its people hence the need for the development for its human and material resources.

The AARDO, headquartered in New Delhi, India, is an inter-governmental and international organisation established in 1962 to promote coordinated efforts, exchange of experiences and cooperative action to further the objectives of the development of rural areas. AARDO undertakes a number of technical and economic activities that are based on the needs of member countries including training programmes, workshops, seminars, deputation of experts, development of pilot projects and dissemination of information.

Its five regional offices were located at Middle East, Far East, West Africa, North Eastern Africa and Southern Africa, which serve as liaison offices for the headquarters to ensure coordination and implementation of its programmes.

Mr. Asamoah-Boateng said the ministry would discuss with the Head of the Institute of Local Government Studies the need to incorporate AARDO's training programmes in their syllabus for public administrators. Mr Adam said since the Local Government Ministry played a vital role in grassroots development, its offices must be provided with both human and material resources to make it function well. He said the AARDO regional office in Accra would be equipped to enable it cover the rest of the sub-region.

Mr Adam also advocated for a stronger educational base for Africans, saying, the Asian giants had reached their present levels because of the emphasis on training.