The second general meeting of 2022 of the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council (UWRCC) was conducted to talk about regional development-related concerns.
In order to contribute to the regional development agenda, the meeting brought together heads of decentralized departments, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MDCEs), Coordinating Directors, and security agencies. Each speaker took turns reporting on the state of the various districts and departments.
Speaking to the crowd at the Wa Regional Hospital, Regional Minister Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih said that the security agencies are getting close to the people who killed some private security guards in the area, saying that “so far, 20 suspects have been picked up and placed before the law court, out of which 7 are in remand.”
He claimed that the government had finished bitumen surfacing 220.29 km of roads in the Upper West Region, including 127.6 km of motorways, 63.70 km of feeder roads, and 23.98 km of urban roads.
He asserts that the increase in the number of physicians and nurses working in the area—from 49 and 2,372 in 2016 to 79 and 4,829, respectively—has significantly improved the doctor-to-patient ratio there.
He claimed that in terms of water coverage, the region had achieved 75.90% compared to the national average of 62.57%, while sanitation performance was less than 10%, with two districts having been designated as open defecation-free.
“As many as 33,868 students currently benefit from the government’s free senior high school policy. To improve access to the 35 public SHS, SHTS and TVETS in the region, GETFUND has completed 33 infrastructural facilities while 11 are in progress. The assemblies in the region using district assemblies common fund, district development fund and Northern Development Authority funding has completed 161 projects in the education sector.” He indicated.
In the area of Agric, he said “provisional figures from the regional directorate from the department of agriculture indicates that the region’s food security is secured. However, we must guard against the unwarranted exportation of food.”
The Lawra District and Nandom Municipal assembly reported probable cases of pneumococcal meningitis with fatalities, while Alex Bapula, director of health services for Wa Municipality, claimed steps had been taken to contain the problem.
Lawyer Abdul Saeed Shakur, the principal state attorney for the Upper West Region, declared that his office has appropriate resources after receiving six new state attorneys and he asked MDAs to quickly set up district courts in order to enhance the delivery of justice.
