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The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Karaga, Imoro Yakubu has called for strong cooperation and support of all stakeholders especially chiefs and people to enable him meet the development aspiration of the people.

According to the DCE, without the support of the stakeholders it would be highly impossible for the government to implement the Better Ghana Agenda, aimed at bringing socio-economic and infrastructural development to the people.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Chronicle in Tamale, the Karaga DCE appealed to the traditional authorities, security agencies, the youth groups and other stakeholders to maintain the prevailing peace and security in the district for an accelerated socio-economic development.

He indicated that the Karaga District after its creation out of the former Gushegu-Karaga District in 2004 had seen sluggish pace of development.  But Mr. Imoro Yakubu was positive that with his determination and unity of purpose by the people, the district could be drastically transformed to befit its status.

The new DCE unveiled his plans to prioritize the promotion of education, healthcare delivery, agriculture, rural electrification and water and sanitation. He complained about the poor performance of the various schools in the Basic Education Certificate Examination.

He said that the government on its part had provided the necessary infrastructure for effective teaching and learning but the lack of commitment on the part of most of the teachers and students continued to impede the quality of education in the district.

It is believed that most of the teachers absent themselves from school and the few who are regular leave the classrooms before closing time.  Mr. Imoro Yakubu called on the Circuit Supervisors and the Parent Teachers Association to assist his administration and the District Education Directorate to monitor the activities of the teachers.

He said that he would not tolerate any misdemeanor or indiscipline from any of the teachers. He also encouraged parents to show keen interest in the education of their wards, especially the girl child and stop giving them out for marriage and as maidservants.

The DCE also announced his readiness to make agriculture one of the most attractive business ventures for the people especially the youth to reduce the rate of youth unemployment in the district. The government through the District Assembly he noted, was supporting the farmers with tractor and combine harvest services as well as fertilizers and other farm inputs.

Mr. Imoro Yakubu noted that the government was also constructing more of the roads in the farming communities to facilitate the movement of goods to the urban centers. He said that the assembly was also working with the District Security Committee (DISEC) to deal holistically with the Fulani herdsmen to avoid destruction of farm lands and other farm produce.

“We are also monitoring them seriously to ensure that they not burn the bushes and people’s farms in this dry season. Most of our farmers still have their farm produce store on their farms and any attempt to burn the bushes can lead to serious devastation which will also result in food insecurity in the district”.

The DCE assured that the government of President John Dramani Mahama was set to build more storage facilities to prevent post-harvest loses by farmers in the Karaga District.  According to him, the government was also conscious of the poor rainfall pattern in the area and was therefore planning to build irrigation dams to enable the farmers go into all year round farming.

Mr. Imoro Yakubu who is currently leading a strong campaign against open defecation and indiscriminate damping of waste, has also directed all head of schools and departments to clean up their compounds after close of school or work every Friday as part of measures to promoting sanitation in the district.

The Karaga DCE hinted that the government was rolling out other interventions to promote small and medium scale enterprises in the district to further boost the local economy. He also called on investors to move to the Karaga District, where most of the Chiefs had already committed free lands to any prospective investor who was willing to establish in the district.