Alhaji Amidu Sulemana, Upper West Regional Minister, has asked Sissala people to bury all differences for the development of the area.

He said development was a progressive and shared responsibility of all and called on son and daughters of Sissala domiciled in any part of the globe, to constantly visit home and make one kind of contribution or the other towards the development of the area.

Alhaji Sulemana made the call at the annual “Paari Gbielle” of the chiefs and people of the Tumu Traditional Area on Saturday, which was on the theme: “Unity in Diversity; a Key to Development”.

He said it was only when the people learned to bury their differences for the common good that they could develop as a united people with a common destiny.

Alhaji Sulemana therefore urged traditional rulers to mobilise their people to support government’s development efforts in bringing more development to the area.

The Regional Minister while commending the Tumu Traditional Council for the festival to showcase the rich culture of the people, said there was the need for the revision of some cultural practices such as widowhood rites, forced marriages and elopement of girls and many others, which infringe on the fundamental human rights of individuals.

He said government was committed to the development of the Sissala East District and the Upper West Region in general.

He said that could be testified to by the provision of massive infrastructure in education, health, agriculture and to some extent in the road sector.

Alhaji Sulemana noted that one area of concern to government was the poor state of some the major roads in the Sissala East District, which government was seeking to address.

He said government was aware of the inconvenience that the Wa-Tumu-Navrongo trunk road was causing to the people of the area, and have awarded 25 km of the Navrongo-Tumu road for tarring and two contractors were working on it from Banu to Tumu.

The completion of the road would serve as a major boost to economic development in the area, while construction works have commenced on the upgrading of the first 10 kilometers of the Tumu-Hain portion of the road.

Contracts have also been awarded for spot improvement on the Tumu –Pieng-Tarsaw and Nabugbelle-Dolibizon –Sunboro feeder roads while procurement was ongoing for pothole patching and upgrading of the road to the Customs Barrier in Tumu.

On health, Alhaji Sulemana said government have taken the health needs of the citizenry seriously and would do everything to expand health facilities including the Tumu Hospital.

He said the Tumu Kuoro request for government to consider adding General Nursing Programme to the Midwifery Training School, would be referred to the Ghana Health Service for their consideration.

The Regional Minister noted that one social issue that has caught the attention of government was the perennial migration of the youth to southern parts of Ghana looking for menial jobs.

He appealed to them to take advantage of the dams and dugouts constructed under the Ghana Social Opportunities Project (GSOP) to do dry season farming to sustain the incomes.

Alhaji Sulemana called on farmers to adhere to best farming practices to adapt to the use of the hydrid seed, and early maturing seeds to help sustain food production.

The Tumu Kuoro, Kuoro Richard Babini Kanton, Paramount Chief of the Tumu Traditional Area, said the Sissala East District was endowed with high shea nut production, which could fetch employment for the youth and urged government to do something about it.

“If the industry is well developed, it has the potential of providing employment to many a youth and reduce migration. The industry would also empower our women economically and consequently reduce poverty,”he said.