Government to boost Cotton Production - Kufuor
Tema factories to revive Chemu Lagoon
Tumu (Upper West) 09 October 2002- President John
Agyekum Kufuor has pledged government's determination to rejuvenate and boost
cotton production in the Sissala District of the Upper West Region.
"Government is determined to rejuvenate cotton
production in the Sissala District, promote and modernise its production to
supply the raw material base of the President's Special Initiative (PSI) on garment
and textiles."
President Kufuor was addressing a durbar of chiefs and
people of Tumu in the Sissala District on the first day of his three-day
official visit to the region. He said it was unacceptable for the area to
produce 35,000 metric tonnes of cotton annually despite the fertile lands and
other potential to increase production in the District.
President Kufuor said irrigation facilities would be
provided in the District for all year production of cotton and other cereals
such as sorghum in the area. President Kufuor said the Management of Guinness
Ghana Ltd had invested five million dollars in sorghum production in Bawku in
the Upper East Region and another town in the Northern Region and with the rich
potential in the Sissala District and would be included in the pilot scheme.
Mr Sahanun Mogtari, Upper West Regional Minister and
Acting Sissala District Chief Executive (DCE) said funds received from the
common fund had been used to improve on the infrastructure in the District. These
include an Area Council building at Zini, the Controller and Accountant
General's Office at Tumu, a KVIP at Tumu and the rehabilitation of the Tumu
Catering Rest House and chalets.
He said the electrification project at Tumu, had been
completed, roads in Tumu township improved and 65 boreholes constructed
throughout the district with the assistance of the World Bank under the
Community Water and Sanitation Project (CWSP) phase two.
Mr Mogtari said some feeder roads in the district had
also been rehabilitated and appealed to government for assistance to tar the
Wa-Tumu road. He said Tumu now had a District Hospital but no permanent medical
officer to operate it.
The Tumu Kuoro, Gilbert Badzoe Kanton V, said
micro-credit facilities provided to women in the district under the Ministry of
Women and Children's Affairs had greatly improved their living standards.
He said the chiefs and people had initiated plans to
establish a Rural Bank in the District. Tumu Kouro Kanton said a seed capital
of 500 million cedis for the bank was being mobilised and structures to
accommodate the bank is being rehabilitated.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Tema (Greater Accra) 09 October 2002- Mr Ishmael
Ashitey, Minister in-charge of Fisheries has called on all factories in Tema,
which discharge their effluent into the Chemu Lagoon to make conscious efforts
to revive and make it operational.
He noted that the Lagoon, which used to be the major
source of livelihood for the indigenes of Tema, is dead, as all the aquatic
creatures have been killed. Mr Ashitey, who is the MP for Tema East, where most
of the factories are located made the call during a familiarisation visit to
the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) and Nestle Ghana Limited (NGL) to acquaint
himself with their operations and particularly to see how they discharge their
waste.
He entreated the factories that were discharging waste
into the lagoon to come together and set up a fund to revive the lagoon to
enable it serve its purpose. At the CPC, Mr Paul Kwame Awua, Managing Director,
said the company had installed a treatment plant to treat its waste before
discharging into the lagoon.
He said no by-product went to waste at the company as
they put them into good use. For instance, cocoa shells that they were
disposing of are now exported as fertilizer while locally, it is used to
prepare local soap, popularly called "alata samina."
Mr Awuah disclosed that the Togolese government had
made it a policy to serve their school pupils with cocoa beverage from CPC
instead of soft drinks. At Nestle Limited, Mr David Ifezulike, told the
Minister that because of its expansion programme, the company has started a new
brand of cocoa beverage called “Nesquik.”
He said plans were in advance stage for further
capacity increase in both evaporated milk and cocoa beverage plants, adding
that in view of the anticipated growth, a modern distribution centre was being
constructed as a stop shop for customers and at the same job avenues for the
youth.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com