The Metropolitan Chief Executive of Tamale, Sule Salifu, has handed over about seven hundred (700) dual desks to ten public basic schools in the northern regional capital. The move is part of efforts to mitigate the furniture deficit in the metropolis.
The Mayor at a short ceremony to present the furniture to assembly members of the beneficiary schools said the gesture forms part of the assembly’s commitment to creating conducive teaching and learning environment in the metropolis.
“We want to thank the Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Finance for supporting the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly to procure these chairs.”
He noted the assembly last week made a similar donation of furniture to other basic schools in partnership with ActionAid Ghana.
According to him, the furniture deficit has now been reduced significantly from 15,000 to about 1000 since he assumed office in 2021.
Mr. Sule Salifu has therefore urged residents of the beneficiary communities to safeguard them to serve the intended purpose for which it has been provided.
“We are told in many of the communities, these chairs are stolen and sold to scrab dealers and the wooden part is used for firewood. I want to say that it is not the best for our children as far as access to quality education is concerned and we want the chiefs and opinion leaders, school management teams, assembly members and unit committees to be interested in the welfare of these furniture” he appealed.
He further assured the assembly will continue to do its part in terms of the provision of furniture and other learning materials to the basic schools for the students to become very useful to society in the near future.
The MCE disclosed the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly is expected to receive an amount of GHS4.2 million this year for priority developmental initiatives through the Social Cohesion (SOCO) Project executed in the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions and funded by the World Bank.
He stated the assembly intends to use a chunked of the resources to invest in the provision of furniture for eradicate the menace of schools without furniture in the metropolis.
Sule Salifu added 2.1million cedis of the fund would be used for the construction of state of the art modern astroturf for the Zogbeli cluster of schools.
He maintained the project when completed will enable the youth in the sporting industry to unearth their talents and other socioeconomic activities can be organized at the facility.
