UPPER WEST CHIEFS HOLD DURBAR FOR PRESIDENT MILLS (SPREAD)

A Durbar of chiefs and people of the Upper West Region has been held in honour of President John E. Atta Mills.
The short durbar held at the Naa Sidiki Bomi Park in Wa and marking the climax of President Mills’s two-day visit to the region as part of his four-day tour of the Upper East and West regions, was graced by people from all walks of life, including security personnel, the clergy and various cultural troupes.
President Mills, who arrived in Wa, the Upper West regional capital, to a tumultuous welcome by enthusiastic supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) at about 5:00 p.m. on Friday, was ushered into the municipality by the supporters, who had travelled by mummy trucks and motorcycles all the way from Wa to Loho, a nearby town, to meet him.
This brought vehicular movement in the Wa municipality to a snail pace and temporarily halted other activities.
In an address at the durbar, President Atta Mills reiterated his call for unity among all and sundry and said he would continue to be president for all.
He said it was part of the vision of his government to create jobs and invest in people, adding that with the proper harnessing of resources and the institution of the Savannah Agricultural Development Authority (SADA), there would be much progress of all forms in the three northern regions.
“The direction of the country has changed and we will move in the new direction,” President Mills stated.
Explaining why it took him time before visiting the Upper West Region after the 2008 general election, President Mills said as head of state and also leader of the NDC, it was important that he got all his Ministers, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCE’s) in place before embarking on the visit.
He was happy that the Upper West continued to remain peaceful in spite of some flash points and charged institutions responsible for the adjudication of chieftaincy cases to expedite action on such cases.
President Mills further reiterated his pledge to ensure fair and equitable distribution of all state resources.
The Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Muhmud Khalid, noted that the 100-per cent confirmation of all the president’s nominees for the position of MMDCEs in the region was enough testimony that the people of the region were ever ready to support his “Better Ghana” agenda.
Mr Khalid also called for unity among the people in the region, particularly the traditional leaders.
The President of the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs and Chief of Dorimon, Naa S. D. Gore, who chaired the function, catalogued a number of development challenges confronting the region and mentioned the development of agriculture and the construction of roads, especially the Wa-Bolga, Sawla-Fufulso and the Nadowli-Lawra-Hamile roads, as the roads which must be given urgent attention.
Naa Gore also expressed appreciation to successive governments for their roles in the construction of the Bole-Bamboi road.