Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih, the Upper West Regional Minister, has eulogised development partners for their immense contributions to the development of the region over the years.
He said their existence and operation in the region had helped to improve the livelihoods of the people in many sectors.
He identified Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), the provision of Health and Educational facilities and logistics, and the introduction of the Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) as some of the areas that development partners had supported.
‘Without our development partners’ interventions, our poverty situation could have been worse than it is today,’ Dr. Salih observed.
The Regional Minister gave the commendation in Wa during an engagement of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) with the development partners to assess their activities in the region and their impact on the lives of the people.
The forum was also to provide an opportunity for the RCC, the Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs), and
the development partners to strengthen their collaboration for effective coordination of their activities to ensure equitable distribution of resources for accelerated development of the region.
Dr. Salih said despite the support of the development partners to the region’s development, there had been concerns about some of them capitalising on the poverty situation of the region to solicit funds for their interest.
He said some Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Civil Society organisations (CSOs) sourced funds with the name of the region but diverted such monies for their personal development to the neglect of the people they were meant for and urged them to desist from such acts.
He also urged the NGOs and CSOs that had not registered with the Regional Social Welfare Department to do so and those who had registered to regularly renew their registration in accordance with the law.
Naa Dikomwine Damalae, the President of the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs, observed that despite the intervention
s of the partners in the region, the region still lagged in development and attributed that to negative socio-cultural practices in the region.
‘The underdevelopment in our part of the world is partly a cultural issue, there are behavioural issues, negative beliefs, harmful cultural practices, and harmful taboos that continue to exist in our communities hampering our level of development,’ he explained.
Naa Domalae, who is also the Paramount Chief of Daffiama Traditional Area, assured the NGOs and CSOs in the region of the unflinching support of traditional leaders towards the efforts of improving the living conditions of the people.
Dr. George Dery, a development consultant, who spoke on behalf of the development partners, encouraged them to identify the development priorities of the Government and to fill in the gaps identified in those development aspirations.
He said the NGOs and CSOs should avoid competing among themselves and collaborate with the limited resources to support the Government in achiev
ing its development ambitions for the country and the region in particular.
Some NGOs and CSOs including the Global Communities and Forward Development West Africa, made presentations on their activities in the region and their impacts on the lives of the people.
Heads of Departments and Agencies and Municipal and District Chief Executives also attended the forum.
Source: Ghana News Agency