VICE PRESIDENT Bawumia yesterday inaugurated an 11-member Board for the Zongo Development Fund (ZDF).
The board, chaired by Seidu H. Nasigri, has Alhaji Arafat Sulemana Abdulai, Ahmed Saeed, Hajia Barikisu Seidu Bawie, Chief Dalhu S. Abdul-Mumin, Sagnari Naa Ambassador Yakubu Abdulai, Chief Mahmoud Dandey, Rev. Dr. Cyril Gershon Kwao Fayose and Ahmed Abdulai Abu as members.
They were sworn in at a short programme at the Jubilee House for a four-year mandate.
Vice President Bawumia, administering the official oath and oath of secrecy at a brief ceremony, charged the board to work assiduously with other stakeholders to enhance the development of Zongo communities across the country.
He said since the establishment of the fund through an Act of Parliament, it had implemented over 300 projects and various social interventions across the country including classroom blocks, roads, astro-turfs, mechanised boreholes, drainage systems, ICT centres and bridges, as well as providing entrepreneurial and employable skill training for the Zongo youth.
Since Ghana’s attainment of independence in 1957, Dr. Bawumia said no government has ever allocated a budget deliberately for the development of Zongo communities.
He, therefore, noted that the establishment of the fund by Akufo-Addo’s administration was unprecedented.
The Vice President thus described the interventions by the fund as commendable efforts aimed at bridging the yawning gap in the educational fortunes of Zongo communities vis-a-vis other communities.
He said the government had implemented a comprehensive development of educational infrastructure in Zongo communities to improve the health facilities, sanitation, human resource development through skills training and educational grants as well as improving the ambience, visibility and security in Zongo communities.
The Zongo Development Fund is the frontline agency and vehicle through which government seeks to develop Zongo communities and improve the standards of living of the people.
On his part, the Board Chairman thanked the President for the confidence reposed in them and pledged to bring their expertise and experiences to bear towards achieving their mandate under the Zongo Development Fund Act, 2017, (Act 964).
BY Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent