Accra, April 22, GNA - The Upper West Regional House of Chiefs on Tuesday expressed appreciation to the Government for its various interventions and programmes that were helping to speed up the development of their part of the country.

Among these are: The increase of the number of district assemblies from five to nine, elevation of the Wa District into a Municipality, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) that has given health cover to 57 per cent of the population, the school feeding programme and progress of work on the Bole-Bamboi road. Additionally, there is also the establishment of the Northern Development Fund.

Kuoro Buktie Limann IV, President of the Regional House, who led a delegation to the Castle, Osu, said the region had had its fair share of development.

"The performance of the Government will go down in history as one of the most memorable." He, however, called for more pace to be injected into the construction of the strategic Wa-Tumu-Bolgatanga road. Besides, he said, with the creation of the new districts, it had become necessary for the Government to see to it that accommodation was provided to house the decentralized departments.

He pledged their resolve as traditional rulers to make sure that peace prevailed in the region.

President Kufuor said the creation of the new districts was meant to promote efficient service delivery to the people through the local government system.

He said the challenge to them was to elect good and responsible people to serve in the assemblies.

Real power of the assemblies, he said, was with the assembly members and not the District Chief Executives. It was therefore important that those to whom they gave their mandate to represent them were people who would insist on accountability.

President Kufuor assured them of the Government's determination to complete projects started in the region.