The Paramount Chief of the Tumu Traditional Area, Kuoro Richard Babini Kanton VI at the occasion of the annual Paari Gbielle festival of the chiefs and people of the Tumu traditional area on 23rd March, 2019, indicated in his address that, the only message his people would listen to in 2020 is when they can travel on tarred road from Bolga to Wa.
Kuoro Kanton VI noted that, the Sissala Area is a food basket in the Upper West Region and the country as a whole but the road networks linking the communities to the Municipal Capital are among the poorest in the region. He said, many of the communities do not have access roads and those with access roads are very deplorable with broken-down bridges and culverts which makes traveling very difficult and risky. He therefore called on government to work on most of the roads especially, the major road linking the Upper East Region and the Upper West Region
Whiles expressing his heartfelt appreciation to the President for elevating Tumu to a Municipal status, he again appealed to government to consider creating a second constituency for the Municipality before 2020 general election, since the total land area for the Municipality is so wide and would not make one Member of Parliament very effective.
He indicated that, Tumu Senior High Technical School, one of the two Senior High Schools in Tumu Municipality, is located in the heart of the town without a fence wall. He made a passionate appeal to the President to consider constructing a fence wall around the school to prevent encroachment and also make the environment conducive for teaching and learning
On his part, the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, reiterated the commitment and determination of his government to bringing development to all parts of this country, without discrimination.
In his remarks, after receiving the title of “Nandong Tenge”, meaning “Reliable Friend”, President Akufo-Addo thanked the Tumu Kuoro, Richard Babini Kanton VI, Paramount Chief of the Tumu Traditional Area, for acknowledging the work of his government in several aspects of life in Sissala East, and, indeed, in Tumu.
In education, President Akufo-Addo noted that, in addition to guaranteeing access to a minimum of senior high school education for school-going children in Sissala East and Tumu, government is constructing a two storey 12-unit classroom block at Tumu Technical Senior High School.
“We have constructed a 6-unit classroom block at Kanton Senior High School, work is ongoing to complete a 1-storey 320 capacity girl’s dormitory block at Tumu Technical Senior High School, and we have opened a tender for the construction of another 320 capacity boy’s dormitory block at Tumu Technical Senior High School,” he added. The President indicated further that modern kindergarten blocks and basic classroom infrastructure, including 3-unit classroom blocks, have been constructed at Kowie, Challu and Kassana.
Touching on agriculture, and with Tumu being a bread basket for our nation, he commended the farmers of the area for their farsightedness and sense of progress in embracing the “Planting for Food and Jobs” programme. He explained that, as part of the programme, a total of 15 motor cycles have been presented to agricultural extension officers in the area to aid them in their work, whilst a contract has been awarded and the site handed over for the construction of a 1,000 metric tonne storage capacity warehouse in Tumu.
On water and sanitation, President Akufo-Addo noted that twenty (20) boreholes in different institutions in Sissala East have been constructed, and the Tumu town water system is in the process of being revamped, with construction and rehabilitation of pumps and expansion of the system ongoing. Similarly, he pointed that “we have constructed five (5) institutional toilet facilities at Kanton Senior High School, Tumu College of Education, Tumu Technical Senior High School, Tumu Community Centre, the Holy Child Senior High School and Walambele community. These were initiatives under the Ministry of Special Initiatives,” he added.
The President further indicated that the government has nearly completed a CHPS compound in Atase, and a 3-bedroom doctor’s residence. Again, the President noted that the construction of a new police station in Balu is almost complete.
President Akufo-Addo assured the Tumu Kuoro that, work will begin soon on the cotton ginnery in Tumu, with 10 dam sites, in Lilixi, Sakai, Jijen, Kulfuo, Challu Bechamboi, Duu, Dolinbizon, Wuru and Nabugubelle, handed over for construction under the 1 Village, 1 Dam programme.
“Two other additional dams are under construction under the Sustainable Land and Water Management Project so it brings to a total of 13 dams under construction here in Sissala East. I want to make the promise I made that, in my time, we are going to have all- year- farming in the Upper West, Upper East and all the northern sectors of our country. That is going to be one of the legacies I want to leave the people of Ghana, and we are on course to do that,” the President said.
On the request to construct fence walls around the two senior high schools in Tumu, President Akufo-Addo revealed that cabinet has issued directives for the Ministry of Education to construct fence walls around all SHS’s which are under threat of encroachment, and urged the schools to put in their request to the Minister for Education.