Konjiehi (U/W), Feb. 17 GNA - A traditional ruler on Sunday appealed to the leadership of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to reverse its opposition to the Government's decision to use two and half per cent of workers social security contributions to start the National Health Insurance Scheme.

Naa Mumuni Yussif, Chief of Konjiahi in the Wa Municipal Assembly, said the use of Social Security and national Insurance Trust (SSNIT) funds for the scheme would be a reciprocal gesture by workers towards farmers, who had been toiling to feed the nation without any form of paid pension.

"After all the sacrifices these farmers have made over the years, it will not be too much to sacrifice a token of our pension to ensure that they are catered for when they are sick."

Naa Yussif, who is a Senior Officer at the Controller and Accountant General's Department, made the appeal at the outdooring of the Konjiahi Youth and Development Association at Konjiahi near Wa. He noted that most of the communities were did not know much about the scheme and urged the District Assemblies to intensify their education programmes to spell out its advantages.

He called on citizens staying outside the area to come back home to register when the voters' registration exercise began next month. Failing to do this, he noted, would deny the community the value of numbers when it comes to development planning.

On development projects, Naa Yussif said the community was constructing a dam to meet their water needs.

He said the only borehole serving the village with potable water was inadequate and appealed to Assembly for assistance. Naa Yussif also appealed to the Assembly to assist the village with roofing sheets, cement and boards to enable them to complete a block of three classrooms, which had been raised to the roofing level.