Kanjo (N/R), Aug 28, GNA – Residents of Kanjo, a community in the Nanumba South District of the Northern Region, have appealed to government and stakeholders to construct a dam in the area to facilitate agriculture and other domestic chores.
They made the appeal when the Nanumba South District Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) engaged the community and Assembly Members on its Social Auditing Engagement programme.
The programme was to enable community members to make an assessment of their needs and prioritise them for duty-bearers to address.
The engagement formed part of the NCCE’s Accountability, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme (ARAP) being supported by the European Union (EU).
The ARAP seeks to promote good governance, accountability and transparency by helping to reduce corruption in institutions.
Residents of Kanjo, after evaluating their community’s needs and aspirations, identified the lack of water as the most pressing need and called on authorities of the Nanumba South District Assembly to develop comprehensive plans to address it.
Mr George Konlan, the Nanumba South District Director of the NCCE, explained to the people that the purpose of social auditing was to promote communal ownership of development programmes and to empower the citizenry to participate more effectively in local governance and demand accountability from duty-bearers.
Mr Yaw Sarfo, the Nanumba South District Director of Education, underscored the importance of education in all aspects of life and encouraged residents to send their children to school to enhance growth and development.
He, however, expressed worry about inadequate resources for monitoring and supervision of schools, accommodation and mass attrition rate of teachers in the area, and appealed to the Assembly for support to improve the situation.
Mr Prince Yelabeyiani, Deputy Nanumba South District Director of the Department of Agriculture, indicated that the government’s Planting for Food and Jobs and Rearing for Food and Jobs programmes had made agricultural inputs affordable to farmers, and urged residents to take advantage of them to expand production.
Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mr Yahaya Salifu, Nanumba South District Police Commander, assured the people that the Service would continue to protect lives and property in the area.
He encouraged residents to provide relevant information to the Police to keep communities safe.
The community set up a five-member committee to explore ways to resolve the water challenge.
GNA