Bimoba community in Garu-Tempane appeals to gov't to connect the area on the National Electricity Grid(Monday, February 27, 2012)

Attn: Regional Desk Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Kpikpira The Regent of Kpikpira in the Garu-Tempane District of the Upper East Region has appealed to the government to fulfil its promise to have the Bimoba communities in the district connected to the National Electricity Grid as early as possible. According to the Regent, Peter Dameri Kulbong the promise which was made last year when honoured will boost socio-economic lives of the people. The Regent made the comment in a speech read on his behalf by the assemblyman for the area, Mr. Joesph Kpemka Dindiock at this year’s Danjuar festival of the Bimobas at Kpikira. The festival, the tenth to be held, was celebrated with pump and pageantry and attracted a good number of sons and daughters of the Bimoba community from Ghana and neighboring countries. Also present was a delegation of the Bawku Naba, Asigri Azoka Abugrago II. Aside the lack of electricity, the traditional ruler said the Bimoba communities in the district encounter a myriad of problems which have made life unbearable. This is said included but not limited to poverty, disease, illiteracy, inadequate infrastructure among other daunting challenges that needed to be surmounted if the people are to witness any meaningful development. He bemoaned the recent performance at the Basic Education Certificate Examination adding the most of the schools within the Bimoba Community performed abysmally. The regent added that this bad performance is expected to worsen if immediate pragmatic and holistic measures are not put in place to avert an imminent collapse of basic education in the area. “The traditional leaders and opinion leaders are ready for any radical policies by government that have the potential of brightening the future of our Junior High School pupils”, he said. He noted that year in year out, they as a people have appealed to government to help construct dams and dug outs within their communities so as to avert the mass exodus of the productive youth to the southern parts in search of greener pastures. He therefore drummed homed the need for a pragmatic and time bound policies aimed at getting a number of dams and dug outs for the area to ameliorate a precarious poverty situation especially during the long fry season. The Member of Parliament for Garu-Tempane and Minister of State at the Office of the President, Mr. Dominic Azimbe Azumah in a swift response said government has approved the rural electrification project adding that starting February 28, 2012, the Regional Coordinating Council will hand over project to a contractor to begin connecting the various communities including those in the Garu-Tempane district. “A loan agreement of $110 million was approved by parliament on the 18th of December last year. All processes are on course and the rural electrification will begin and come October, the entire community will be lighted up”. He also announced that government has approved boarding status of the Tempane Senior High School with immediate effect, stressing that all the necessary documentation have been completed. The Chairman of the Bimoba Union, Mr. Essagol Joe Lama, announced that the Girl Child Education Support Fund initiated in the area, gave chalked positive results stressing hat in 2010, 25 girls were supported from JHS 1 to JHS 3 with 18 girls gaining admission to Senior High School. He said for 2012, the union intends to sponsor 30 girls and therefore appealed to individuals and organizations to lend their support to the fund. The Garu-Tempane District Chef Executive, Mr. David Adakudugu also assured the Bimoba community of the assembly’s continues commitment to spread development to very part of the district. The Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs. Lucy Awuni said government recognizes the developmental gap between the North and the South and for that matter has put in place bold initiatives such as the Savannah Accelerated Development programme to harness all the economic potentials to bridge that gap and create wealth for the people. -End-