NADOWLI DISTRICT MAKES PROGRESS (PAGE 20, FEB 23, 2010)

THE Nadowli District in the Upper West Region has seen remarkable development in terms of provision of health and educational infrastructure as well as extension of water and other amenities to various communities within the district, barely a year after Mr Abu Kasangbata, the new District Chief Executive (DCE), took office.
The projects include construction of a mini office and store for the Ghana Education Service (GES) at the cost of GH¢17,004.56, which was also supported by the Member of Parliament (MP) of the area, construction of teachers quarters at Issa and Jolinyiri at the cost of GH¢42,049.01 and GH¢39, 457.64 respectively, construction of a number of Community Health Planning Services (CHPS) compounds and ancillaries.
Others are construction of small towns water supply systems at the cost of GH¢664,000, among other projects, all at the total cost of GH¢1,182,102.05.
It is worth noting that as part of efforts at eliminating poverty and improving upon the quality of life of the people in the rural areas, measures were adopted by successive governments to increase rural productivity, employment and other benefits to uplift their living conditions.
For these reasons, more districts were carved out of some old districts in order to facilitate the development process of the communities under them.
That led to the creation of many districts, one of which is the Nadowli District Assembly.
The District capital, Nadowli, which is about 40 kilometres away from the Upper West Regional capital, Wa, is bounded in the north by the Jirapa District and the south by the Wa Municipality.
On the eastern side of the district is the Sissala East District with fellow West African neighbour, Burkina Faso, to its west.
According to the 2000 Population and Housing Census, the Nadowli District had a population of 82,716, but the current population of the district is estimated to be around 94,671.
The district has two major ethnic groups, namely the Dagaabas and the Sissalas, most of whom are Christians of Catholic denomination. There are also some Moslems and a few African traditional believers.
Despite the religious differences of the people in the district, religious tolerance prevails among the people, thereby sustaining the peace in the area.
The district lies in the Guinea Savannah woodland and it is dominated by subsistence agriculture and petty trading. It also has economic trees ranging from baobab, kapok, mango and dawadawa, which have over the years, served as the sources of income for many households in the district, particularly women. These trees also provide employment for the people.
The district experiences more rains between May and September, but the rains peak around August. On the other hand, there is virtually no rain between October and March each year, giving way to the harsh Harmattan winds which hamper production of food, thereby worsening food security situation in the district.
The new DCE, Mr Abu Kasangbata, has since his assumption of office in 2009, taken steps to tackle the problems systematically.
He told the Daily Graphic that he would initiate moves to at least increase the number of dams and dug-outs in the district in order to improve upon the food situation, halt the rampant migration of the youth to the southern Ghana and also to support irrigation to make agriculture more attractive to the people.
Mr Kasangbata said ever since the area gained the status of a district, the people had changed the style of constructing houses by putting up sandcrete block buildings.
On tourism, he expressed regret that even though the district abounded in more tourist sites, many of them were yet to be developed to attract more tourists to increase the revenue base of the assembly.
He, therefore, gave an assurance that he would work very hard to ensure the development of the sites.
Mr Kasangbata mentioned some of the tourist sites as the cluster of anthills known as the Balata Anthills at Bayero, near Nanville, the Sankana Rocks and Slave Caves, the Crocodile Pond at Papu, the bone setting clinic at Duong and the Porcupine Sanctuary at Guri, near Sombo.
Considering the location of the district and its border with neighbouring Burkina Faso, the DCE said the district was threatened by the HIV/AIDS pandemic and cattle rustlers who migrated to and from the district to the neighbouring country.
The DCE described the annual burning of bushes, indiscriminate felling of trees for fuel wood, charcoal and other purposes, as well as poor animal husbandry practices which had affected the vegetation cover as some of the challenges he intended to confront.
The latter, according to the DCE, had led to soil erosion with its resultant depletion of the fertility of the soil. Construction of roads, sand and gravel weaning, coupled with inappropriate farming practices such as shifting cultivation, land rotation, and slash and burn have all contributed to the degrading nature of the Nadowli environment.
According to the DCE, issues bordering on environmental degradation were dear to his heart.
For that reason, he said he would liaise with the appropriate agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to improve upon the existing conditions.