GOVT TO REHABILITATE SCHOOLS IN EASTERN REGION (PAGE 43)

A SODCUTTING ceremony for the rehabilitation of five dilapidated primary school buildings in very deprived areas of the Kwahu South District in the Eastern Region was performed at Kotoso on Saturday.
The project, which is being funded from the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), covers the Kotoso D/A Primary School, Ahinase R/C Primary, Nketepa L/A Primary, Oframase L/A Primary and the Asuboni Primary School which would all be provided with offices, teachers’ bungalows and other ancillary facilities.
The project which is the first phase of the MCA initiative in the Kwahu South District, one of the 23 beneficiaries districts in the country, is aimed at improving the quality of education in such deprived communities to produce good pupils who would be able to climb the academic ladder to become professionals to help reduce abject poverty in the area.
Addressing a large gathering of the people of Kotoso and its surrounding hamlets, including the chief of Kwahu Beponghene, Nana Nyarko Bawuah 11, the Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), Mr Martin Esson-Benjamin, outlined goals of MiDA which he said is to reduce poverty with the rehabilitation or provision of some vital social amenities.
These, he said included schools, water and sanitation facilities, roads and electricity, adding that the people in such areas who were mostly farmers and fishermen would also be assisted with funds to expand their ventures to generate more income for their livelihood and that of their families.
Mr Esson-Benjamin who therefore advised parents in the area to send their children to school further asked the farmers to form associations or groups to make it easy for them to obtain financial assistance from the MDA.
“The government is concerned about the poor living condition in deprived areas and this is why it is using the MDA to improve the lot of the people in this areas so you must take the opportunity to improve your lot”, Mr Esson-Benjamin told the gathering.
Earlier, the Kwahu South District Chief Executive (DCE), Nana Onwona Asante, who was happy that the district had been included in the MCA programme, said about 2, 400 farmers would be covered.
To ensure the success of the programme in the district, the DCE gave the assurance that the assembly would do its best in that respect, and expressed his gratitude to President Kufuor for the MCA initiative which according to him would go a long way to reduce poverty in the area.