Education key in the use of Zongo Development fund – Boniface

Alhaji Abubakar Saddique Boniface, the Minister of Inner-City and Zongo Development, has said the Zongo Community Development Fund would be used to support education and other critical needs of the Zongo communities.

Alhaji Boniface was speaking during stakeholders’ forum on Monday as part of a nationwide stakeholder consultation to explain the essence of the fund as well as seek support for the successful implementation of the programme.
Alhaji Boniface said the development fund would be used judiciously in support of areas such as education, sanitation, infrastructure, cultural development and employment for inhabitants of Zongo communities throughout the country.

He called for maximum support from the leadership in the various Zongo communities to ensure the successful implementation of the programme.
“We are not saying that the Zongo communities are different from other sectors of the country but we have recognised a lopsided development, which we intend to bridge to improve the living standards of the people”, he said.

He said more emphasis would be placed on education and sanitation because if people were more educated and had clean environment, their economic situation would also improve.
Alhaji Boniface advised the youth in Zongo communities not to allow people to capitalize on their vulnerability and use them to cause mayhem and urged them to rather take advantage of the initiative to improve their lives.

He said the Ministry would collaborate with the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDA’s) to ensure proper co-ordination and distribution of resources.
Mr Salifu Saeed, the Northern Regional Minister, appealed to the Inter-City and Zongo Development Ministry to take into consideration the size of the region and the untapped capacities in the large number of Zongo communities during the process of distribution of resources.

In an open forum, participants spoke on the need to establish factories to bring development and proper supervision to ensure the continuity of the development initiative.
They suggested that laws be made to prevent the interference of political authorities during the selection of beneficiaries of the fund.
GNA

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