William Hanna – Head of EU in Ghana
The European Union (EU) has pledged to use more than half of its financial support to the country this year to develop the three Northern Regions, as a way of addressing poverty and maternal health.
Mr William Hanna, EU Ambassador in Ghana, announced this on Tuesday during a courtesy call on Alhaji Limuna Mohammed-Muniru, Northern Regional Minister, to interact with the Northern Regional Coordinating Council (NRCC) to see areas of collaboration.
The EU Ambassador is in the Northern Region to inspect its funded projects in the Upper East, Upper West and the Northern Regions, and to see other areas that it can support.
Mr Hanna said the EU was working in areas of maternal health, water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as agriculture, and gave the assurance that everything would be done to ensure consistent support to improve lives in the north.
He said the EU was looking forward to receiving requests from the NRCC for payment, to support the second year implementation of the grant contract to strengthen the Regional Planning and Coordinating Unit (RPCU).
He noted that the funds to be allocated would go into road construction, maternal health, food and agriculture, and that the EU would work hand in hand with stakeholders in agriculture and farmer groups, to achieve its purpose.
Mr Hanna announced that the EU would soon organize a dialogue to be chaired by President Mahama, and that discussions would be centred on migration and other activities that affect citizens of Ghana and the continent as whole.
Alhaji Mohammed-Muniru, stressed the need for donor partners to help research into the reasons for the unending conflicts in the north, which stalls development.
He said though some of the conflicts had been attributed to chieftaincy, land, political and religion, it was important to conduct research into the conflicts to be used as basis for finding lasting solutions to them.
He said the Northern Regions were not poor as had been perceived, explaining that the area remained in its sorry state because its potentias had not been properly harnessed.
He called for a programme to help change the mindset of the youth for them to go into agriculture.
He also said more dug-outs and irrigation facilities, as well as storage facilities, needed to be done in the three northern regions, to address post-harvest losses.
Source: GNA
