Some 32 projects out of 39 under the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion (SOCO) projects have been completed in the Savannah Region
The Savannah Regional Minster, Mr Saeed Muazu Jibril, made this known to journalists at media engagement in Damongo, the regional capital of the Savannah Region on Tuesday.
The purpose of the engagement was to brief and update the media on the progress and current state of SOCO projects in the region.
The projects completed included 7 schools, 7 health facilities, 4 rural markets, 2 rural roads, culverts, 12 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities, 2 social centres, 4 youth engagement activities and 1 earth dam to help the farmers farm year- round.
The minister said the projects had really improved the infrastructure development in the beneficiary districts in the region.
The beneficiary Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs), he mentioned, were Bole Municipal, Sawla-Tuna-Kalba (STK) District, North East Gonja District and North Gonja District.
He said the implementation of the projects had also enhanced the livelihood of the people in the beneficiary communities.
The minister stated that the SOCO projects came in as a beacon for improving regional livelihood of the residents, and enhanced to socio-economic and climate resilience in the targeted northern regions of Gulf of Guinea Countries.
“The initiative has the full commitment of our President, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and our Vice President and Presidential Candidate for the NPP, His Excellency Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who has been deeply involved in every phase of the projects,” he added
According to him, as result of the success of the projects, the government was considering a request for additional financing to expand the scope of the SOCO Projects.
This, he noted, was to allow the government to extend the benefits of the projects to other districts in the six implementing regions.
The minister, however, applauded the partners, the community leaders, the entire communities, and everyone involved in making the SOCO Projects a success
The Capacity Building Specialist of SOCO Projects, Mr Alhassan Osman, said the SOCO Projects was a multi-country initiative with a total budget of USD 450 million, funded by the World Bank, in which USD 150 million was allocated to Ghana.
“This project is designed to address the complex challenges faced by the northern regions of the Gulf of Guinea countries (Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, and Benin),” he added.
He said the regions had long been grappling with vulnerabilities such as food insecurity, climate change, conflict, and violence, which led to a high levels of fragility in the communities.
Mr Osman stated that the challenges had made the youth and communities highly susceptible to extremist ideologies and further exacerbating regional instability
FROM YAHAYA NUHU
NADAA, DAMONGO
