The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia on Wednesday, October 25, 2023, joined the Overlord of Dagbon, Yaa Naa Abukari II at the Gbewaa Palace in Yendi in the northern region to cut sod for the commencement work on all the 582 project under the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion (SOCO) initiative.
The SOCO Project is a USD150 million Credit Facility Project secured by the Government of Ghana from the World Bank to implement the Project in forty-eight (48) Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in six regions including the Northern, North East, Upper East, Upper West, Savannah and Oti regions.
In his address, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia gave a breakdown of the distribution of the projects across the beneficiary Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the six regions.
The distribution is as follows: Northern – eight District Assemblies, North East – six (6) District Assemblies, Upper East – all the fifteen (15) District Assemblies, Upper West – all the eleven (11) District Assemblies, Savannah – four (4) District Assemblies and Oti – four (4) District Assemblies.
He noted this is a very important and timely intervention aimed at addressing some key emerging and recurring challenges in the northern part of Ghana.
“I want to commend the Hon. Minister and the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development for providing leadership for the designing and launching of this project on 25th November 2022 in Bolgatanga. I am happy to be here today, for the sod cutting to commence actual execution of the 2023 sub projects in Yendi. I applaud and congratulate you for your efforts and by extension the various Regional Ministers and MMDCEs” he lauded.
Dr Bawumia indicated that the Project has been conceived and designed to address the effects of the spillover of conflicts and extremism from the Sahel Region; reduce vulnerability because of exposure to the impacts of climate change; strengthen local institutions; improve economic opportunities and build public trust.
In this regard, he added it focuses mostly on border communities in these Regions where the citizenry especially women and youth are exposed and susceptible to the threats of terrorism from the Sahel Region, stressing thus, the Project focuses on dealing with issues relating to Fragility, Conflicts and Violence (FCV).
The Vice President emphasized this is very significant as countries all over the world are pursuing strategies to address these challenges in view of the anticipated worsening of the situation if the necessary interventions are not promptly instituted.
He stated therefore the multi-million dollar project is geared at promoting inclusive local governance and community driven development; reducing exposure and offers interventions based on three principles.
“I am happy to state that all these are consistent with the strategic pillars of the Coordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development Policies; the Medium-Term National Development Policy Framework (2022-2025); and the three pillars, i.e., peace and security, economic growth, and social development; of the Ghana@100 vision.”
Economic growth
According to Dr Bawumia, these government policies collectively seek to reduce inequality, foster economic growth and job creation, empower livelihoods, promote good governance, empower the youth, and deliver climate-resilient community infrastructure.
“Clearly, the SOCO Project is very much in line with Government development agenda as further reflected in key policy and legal frameworks such as the Local Governance Act, 2016 Act 936, the National Urban Policy, 2012, the National Rural Development Policy, 2017, the National Decentralization Policy and Strategy (2020-2024) and the National Local Economic Policy (2020) and Action Plan.
Yaa Naa remarks
The Overlord of Dagbon, Yaa Naa Abukari for his part said the SOCO project when completed will undoubtedly bring significant improvements in the lives of the populace.
“We, on our part will do our best to monitor the activities within our reach to ensure that our people get the full benefits of the project” he assured, stating that, “the aim of the SOCO project is also dear to our hearts since it seeks to protect us from being drawn into the conflicts raging in the Sahel regions”.
The Dagbon King also urged the project implementing officers to be diligent and prompt in disbursing all resources timely for the full realization of the objectives of the project.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development, Dan Kweku Botwe in his remarks said there is money available for the takeoff of the project and assured the projects earmarked for the first phase will be completed on time as scheduled.
