Former Minister of State at the Presidency, Rashid Pelpuo, is warning government against the use of the three development authorities as a tool for needless politicking.
According to him, the establishment of particularly the Northern Development Authority out of the remnants of SADA should not operate in a way that puts Northern Ghana at a disadvantage because the electoral fortunes of the NPP is not the best in that part of the country.
His comments follow the expected laying of the bills for the Northern, Middle Belt and Coastal Development Authorities in Parliament next week.
Speaking to Citi News’ Duke Mensah Opoku on Friday, Rashid Pelpuo said government must come clean on why it added other areas apart from the northern belt which has peculiar challenges.
“It’s a normal thing for any government that wants to undertake a development agenda to develop a policy that will translate it into a legal frame. So that’s why I see government couching their policy on the development sectors – the northern, middle belt and the coast belt, couching it on a bill which will appear before parliament soon. We are looking forward to examine the details of how that policy initiative if translated into law will come out. We want to see how that development bill will correspond to the peculiar needs of the various areas and why government decided to separate them into three development areas.”
He explained that during the NDC’s regime, they limited the areas to places that have challenges in development.
“So it is important to pull the north along so that we can have a good average for the country. But now if you are adding other places, there must be a reason to add those other places. Maybe they too have those kinds of challenges but that would depend on some feasibility study,” he added.
President Akufo Addo has approved an act establishing the three development authorities to be laid before Parliament on Wednesday.
The Coastal, Middle and Northern Belt Development Authorities according to the government, will be key in the administration of the one million dollars for every constituency each year.
Also, the Bill establishing the Zongo Development Fund will be laid before the House on Wednesday.
Dr. Muntaka Alolo, a Technical Economic Adviser at the Office of the Vice President, told Citi News that government is ready to fulfill those promises to Ghanaians.
“On Wednesday, the draft Bill will be made in Parliament for the establishment of the three development authorities but once it is made , the necessary parliamentary processes will take off so the bills are packed and the authorities will be established…” Dr. Alolo said.
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
