WORK HARD TO IMPROVE FOOD SECURITY — KHALID (PAGE 20)

THE Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Mahmud Khalid, has charged the regional office of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) to be up and doing to ensure food security in the region.
"I am not satisfied with what is happening with agriculture, especially in the districts. Even in July, we are still ploughing in flooded areas,” he noted, and appealed to the MOFA Directorate to be proactive and rise up to the occasion.
Addressing members of the Lawra District Assembly at its first ordinary meeting at Lawra, the regional minister said it was the duty of the directorate to structure its strategic plans that would enhance food production and security in the region.
He again expressed dissatisfaction with the picture being painted on provision of potable water for the communities in the region.
Mr Khalid stated that even though existing statistics on the provision of water to the communities in the region was said to be about 75 per cent, it was not so on the ground.
He, therefore, asked the respective agencies in charge to take another look at the statistics.
Mr Khalid stressed the need for the agricultural officials to concentrate on the development of human resource in the region in order to be able to improve the available resources.
Touching on the activities of the district assemblies, Mr Khalid commended members of the Lawra Assembly for their sense of unity and understanding, and said that had set the pace for effective functioning of the assembly in future.
He also reminded them that there was still a lot of work to be done to improve the standard of living of the people.
"Where we cannot meet their demands, we must be able to explain issues in a transparent manner for the people to appreciate,” Mr Khalid advised.
The Lawra District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Samson Abu, for his part, challenged the assembly members to work hard to improve revenue generation.
He also outlined his vision for the assembly with respect to health care, provision of water as well as improvement in educational infrastructure, among others.
Mr Abu also gave the assurance that the assembly would collaborate effectively with the Urban Roads Department to work on the roads that had been destroyed by the current rains.
He mentioned some of the roads linking Tolibre with Dapulah, Kalsagri with Babile and Nandom with Nandomle.
Commenting on the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), the DCE said, the programme had offered direct employment to more than 240 youths in the district.
He, however, stated that the programme had been bedevilled with delay in payment of salaries, poor monitoring and inadequate training of personnel.