NGOs To Evaluate Development In North

By Stephen K. Effah
Wednesday, 15 August 2007

Anational conference of civil society and non-governmental organisations is to be held in Accra in October to brainstorm and evaluate development investments in the three northern regions.

The conference will also discuss whether the three regions are getting the right support or not, or misappropriating funds received, or don’t have the right local commitment.

To be convened by Northern Ghana Aid, an NGO, the conference will be backed by a working group of professionals and experts who would use their expertise to support rapid poverty reduction in the three regions.

Mustapha Sanah, Executive Chairman of Northern Ghana Aid, said this when he called on the Managing Director of the New Times Corporation (NTC), Kofi Asuman, in Accra last Friday to present a copy of a blueprint to him ahead of the conference. The NTC publishes The Ghanaian Times, The Spectator and The Sporting Times.

The blueprint, developed by Northern Ghana Aid aims to set up the right strategies to help the development of the three regions through poverty reduction.

Mr. Sanah indicated that although a lot of money has gone to the three regions, the impact is minimal noting that even the people in the regions are skeptical about the fact that so much money has been pumped into the area.

He said that the poverty situation there continued to be serious and has been a major contributor to the migration of many northerners to the south.

He said the poverty situation should be seen as a "national crisis," and be treated as such.
He said his organisation has plans to institute a Northern Ghana Millennium Fund to support local initiatives in a renewed attempt to reduce poverty.

Mr.Sanah noted that although chiefs, the local assembly and unit committee members among others have good ideas, funding to implement those ideas has always been a constraint, adding that the three regions, Upper East, Upper West and Northern regions, have a huge agricultural potential to feed the whole country should the sector be given the required investment.

He commended the Ghanaian Times for the good work it is doing through its publication on developmental issues.

Mr. Asuman expressed worry about the situation in the north noting that in spite of the great number of NGOs there development still lags behind.