The Paramount Chief of the Kpembe traditional area in the East Gonja municipality of the Savannah region has pleaded with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to construct the oldest basic school in the northern part of the country to leave unmatched legacy after his presidency.
According to Kpembewura Banbanye Bismark Haruna, the Kpembe primary school was built as far back as 1937 but has not seen any maintenance works since then.
He decried the deplorable state of school, saying it is not fit for purpose.
Kpembewura has therefore urged President Akufo-Addo to construct a new storey building school with state-of-the-art ICT laboratory to improve teaching and learning in the area.
He made the appeal on Monday when the head of state paid a working visit to the home region of the flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2020 general election.
The Kpembe Chief disclosed that influential people like Mr. E.A Mahama, father of former President John Mahama; former Yagbowura Tiimu and many other senior citizens of the country were all educated in the school.
“This school has been in deplorable state and we have been grooming politicians since Guggisberg to Kwame Nkrumah’s era but nobody is looking at this school, they don’t even say anything about it. Me and you, this is our project; the legacy I want us to leave for our people. We need your support for the construction of a one new storey building with state of the art ICT laboratory and learning materials to improve the standard of teaching and learning of our people in this area,” Kpembewura told President Akufo-Addo.
Kpembe water crisis
Kpembewura Bismark Haruna seized the opportunity to commend President Akufo-Addo for fulfilling his promise of constructing the Salaga water project.
The President in 2017 tasked the Chief Executive for the Ghana Water Company Limited, Dr Clifford Braimah, to facilitate measures to extend pipe borne water to area in order to end the longstanding acute water crisis in Salaga and its environs.
The Kpembewura said this has come to end the century old scarcity of water in the municipality.
Appeal for roads
The Kpembewura appealed to President Akufo-Addo to ensure the completion of the Tamale – Salaga road.
He reported to the President that Ibrahim Mahama’s Engineers and Planners construction, one of the contractors working on the road is not complementing efforts of the other contractor, Ghanem construction.
The Chief observed that “from Tamale coming, Ghanem are seriously doing the job but E&P, i.e Engineers and Planners; you don’t see the efforts they are making and we only see them on the road when you are about to come in”, he alleged.
He maintained the poor road network in the area is an impediment to economic activities, arguing that this is the easiest road linking the north to the south.
“For that matter, Mr. President I want you to do something about the road and also see to how we could bridge the Mankango river”, he emphasized.
For his part, President Akufo-Addo reiterated this is a year of roads and assured that Chiefs and people of the East Gonja municipality that the Tamale–Mankango road will be completed in due time.
He recounted prior to the 2016 general election, the former President John Mahama’s claimed he was responsible for the unprecedented construction of roads in the country.
“Somewhere I made the remarks that I didn’t see this infrastructure and unprecedented development because the roads I was on are very bad; he said I was asleep at the back of my car not to see this unprecedented development. Well, I think everybody in this country knows who is telling the truth”, he indicated.
However, President Akufo-Addo defended the reason government declared 2020 as the year of roads.
He noted the road sector of the country is very poor, adding, that is why we have decided to devote this year as year of roads.
“So that the development of the roads will not be in the green book, it will not be in the statement of the President but people will see and feel it”, President Akufo-Addo maintained.
