ALCOHOL ABUSE WORRIES BUILSA TRADITIONAL COUNCIL (PAGE 35, JAN 17, 2011)

THE Builsa Traditional Council in the Upper East Region is deeply worried at the rising incidence of alcoholism in the area.
It has, therefore, urged the youth to eschew the habit of excessive drinking and rather venture into more profitable ventures such as agriculture.
The district has, for the past four years, produced farmers who have won national awards during the National Farmers Day celebrations, and the council believes many more potential best farmers could emerge from the area if only the youth will put their efforts into that venture.
“We, the chiefs, wish to urge the youth who are the future leaders to put an end to alcohol consumption because it does not speak well of us and it does no honour to our ancestors,” the council stressed.
The Regent of Sandema and acting Paramount Chief of Builsa, Nansuing Nab Alex Azantilow, said this at the recent annual Feok Festival of the chiefs and people of Builsa at Sandema.
The theme for the celebration, which is aimed at giving thanks to the ancestors of the area for a prosperous year, was: “Harnessing the natural resources of Builsa for better development.”
The regent commended the Ministry of Food and Agriculture for assisting livestock farmers in the area with a number of sheep, aimed at improving the local livestock breed.
He called for an enhancement in the package to ensure that many more people benefited from that facility.
Nansuing Azantilow commended the government for selecting Builsa to benefit from improved health facilities, adding that it would bring better health care services to the doorsteps of the people.
He stressed that when the people were strong, they would produce more food to feed themselves and the rest of the country.
Nansuing Azantilow, however, bemoaned the fact that in spite of the contributions of Builsa to the national cause such as enlisting many citizens from the area into the Gold Coast Armed Forces and later the British Army to fight in the first and second world wars, little had been done to honour those gallant men who lost their lives in the struggle.
He, therefore, called for the construction of a befitting veterans’ halls as well as the building of a modern police station in memory of all those who lost their lives.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, said the government was aware of the Builsa District’s potential and was, therefore, poised to open up the area to promote socio-economic activities that would help reduce poverty among the people.
He said under a DANIDA, funded programme, approval had been given for the construction of a bridge over River Sisilii at Doninga to link the region with the Upper West as an alternate and shorter route to Wa.
The regent reassured the people that the Chuchuliga-Sandema road, which had been a major concern of the people for a very long time, had been repackaged and awarded to a competent contractor for rehabilitation.
The Builsa District Chief Executive, Mr Norbert Awulley, earlier in a welcoming address, said the assembly was working out a strategy to formalise the operations of a number of small scale miners (galamsey operators) in the district.
He said the miners would be equipped with the requisite scientific knowledge, equipment and skills and their operations streamlined so that their activities would not adversely affect the environment.