Dr Michael Ayamga, Development Economist and Senior Lecturer at the Department of Applied Economics, University for Development Studies, has called on government to institute affirmative action to accelerate development in the northern part of the country.
He said, “If we want to pursue northern development in reality and not for political reasons, we have to agree that Northern Ghana must be given more in contemporary times than the southern components that are far advanced.”
He noted that, Northern Ghana had been disproportionately developed and deliberately underdeveloped for certain political reasons.
Dr Ayamga made the call at the Regional Development Forum in Tamale, organised by the National Development Planning Commission in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development.
It was to engage stakeholders to help discuss roadmap on efforts to bridge the development gap between southern and northern parts of the country.
It focused on the Gulf of Guinea Social Cohesion (SOCO) project to deliberate on actions and partnerships that would augment local development.
It was attended by Civil Society Organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations, traditional leaders, and other partners of local government from the northern parts of the country.
The event on the theme: “A Policy Thrust: Achieving Equitable and Balanced Development through Effective Project Delivery in Northern Ghana”.
The SOCO project is a $150 million credit facility from the World Bank to enhance development of 48 districts in Northern Ghana and the Oti Region.
Dr Ayamga said though there were strategies targeted at developing the country, they did not capture the inequalities and disparities among regions in the country.
He said, “We give equal responses to different geographic locations and fail to target development of the vulnerable, marginalised and those who lag behind.”
He condemned exempting people from resource management because they did not come from the resource areas.
