BUILSA SOUTH YOUTH ASSOCIATION (BSYA) HOLDS 1ST CONSULTATIVE FORUM IN ACCRA TO CHAMPION DEVELOPMENT IN THE DISTRICT.
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The program which took
place at the Accra Technical University on Saturday, 14th May, 2022 brought
together natives, Chiefs, and other distinguished personalities of the district
to deliberate on ways to address the developmental shortfalls in the district.
The Theme for the occasion was "Accelerating Development in the Builsa
South District through Education, Health and Security: The Role of Stakeholders."
Chairman of the
Association, Mr. Philip Akumasi Agalisi indicated that the purpose of the forum
was to bring together natives of the district in and out of Accra to deliberate
on ways to champion development in the district. According to him, government
alone could not advance development in the district, thus it was necessary for
natives of the district in Accra to come together as one body to advance
development in the district.
Mr. Agalisi indicated
that since the formation of the Association four years ago, it has choked some
success. According to him, the reasons behind the formation of the Association
were to come together and form one voice, create job opportunities for the members,
hold leadership in the district accountable, and mobilize resources for
development, among a host of others.
Mr. Agalisi has, however,
bemoaned the lack of enthusiasm among members as one of the association's
challenges. Others include a lack of brotherly love among members, a wide
developmental gap in the district, financial constraints, and partisan politics
among some members, among others. Nonetheless, Mr. Agalisi was optimistic about
the prospects of the association and therefore appealed to natives and
stakeholders in the district to help make the association a viable one to
champion development in the district.
The Key Speaker for the
occasion, Dr. Chris Atim, a Health Economist and native of the district first
commended BYSA for its excellent and enterprising effort emphasizing that he
was "elated that there are still young men and women who have the progress
of Builsa South at heart" and making frantic efforts at advocating not only
development in the district, but are also contributing their widow's mite in
diverse ways to ensure the development of the district and its citizens. Many
such meetings often fail due to disagreements. He has said.
He further encouraged the
association "to continue to stay focused and true to the objectives and
ideals" for which the association was formed to remain relevant. He called
on other members of the district in Accra yet to join the association to endeavour
to do so without hesitation "so that you can lead the agenda for progress
in Builsa South."
According to the Health
Economist, the theme for the occasion "Accelerating Development in the
Builsa South District through Education, Health and Security: The Role of
Stakeholders" was "well thought out, topical and pertinent".
Explaining further, Dr. Atim opined that education gets society enlightened and
informed, thus, enabling them to make rational choices in every aspect of life;
health keeps people well and so empowers them to carry out their daily
activities successfully; and, security, of course, ensures a safe and sound
conducive environment that permits other pillars to exist and function, thus
allowing citizens to go about their daily duties without fear whatsoever.
Dr. Atim revealed that the
poverty level in the district was devastating. To buttress his point, Dr. Atim
stated that data available show the poverty prevalence in the district as of
2017 stood at 37.7%, representing 14,830 people (total population of the poor)
whereas households with moderate or severe hunger stood at 31.7%, a situation
that certainly needs attention.
Traditionally, the Builsa
land is well known for smallholder agriculture as its main source of
livelihood. According to Dr. Atim, though Fumbisi and Gbedembilisi, suburbs of
the Builsa South Districts, valleys are considered in Ghana as the rice farm
gates, and have the potential to contribute momentously to the rice consumption
needs of the country, the limited use of simple and contemporary farming
techniques was hampering those efforts, which will mean, people in the district
are missing out opportunities to make farming more productive. Consequently,
education allied with other crucial resources was thus critical if we are to
realize the full potential of our lands for the progress and development of our
people and district as a whole. He emphasized.
SECURITY
On security, Dr. Atim
underscored the importance of security in every community's development.
According to him, security is a "major defining feature community's
attractiveness not just to its members, but also to others who want to do
business in the community”. Thus, security completes the list of vital
ingredients for sustainable community advancement.
He, however, bemoaned the
spate of crimes within the district in recent years. According to Dr. Atim, in
the distant past, the issue of security within the Builsa land used to be pure
superstition where the alleged existence of 'ghosts' was a major concern.
However, the situation is no longer the same today. "While 'ghosts' have
fled the communities, suddenly, new and dangerous 'ghosts' have arrived that
have become a major threat" to both human lives and property. This, he
stated, can be partly placed at the doors of globalization dynamics which in
itself presents opportunities and threats.
In all these instances,
Dr. Atim wondered what the security forces were doing to avert the situation.
"In all of this, where are our security forces?" He quizzed.
In other to ameliorate
the rampant issue of insecurities in the district, Dr. Atim has called on the
district security authorities to liaise with vigilante groups, who were already
playing some watchdog duties in the district to protect lives and property.
"Mr. Chairman, I am
aware of some efforts by the security authorities to improve the security
situation. I am also aware of citizens' especially the youth support to
security authorities and the district all to improve security in Builsa
land". Adding, he said, "I am informed of the youth forming some
vigilante groups to serving as watchdogs over their communities to protect
communities and properties against criminal robberies and wanton stealing of
their livestock and properties. This goes to show that security is
community-based and collaborative. Dr. Atim has stated.
According to Dr. Atim,
the lack of adequate police personnel as well as the lack of autonomous police
command in the district may have contributed to the deteriorating security
incidents in the past. Fortunately, now that there is an autonomous police
command in the district, he hopes the situation improves. He, therefore,
appealed to the police command to consider increasing the number of police
personnel in the district to further improve the security situation.
In Dr. Atim's opinion,
one of the ways to combat the rampant incidents of crime in the Builsa land was
the collaborative effort by both the district security forces and residents in
the communities since the security authorities alone in the district were
incapable of combating crime.
In concluding on the
issue of security, Dr. Atim indicated that "inadequate security threatens
peace and impacts negatively on a community's local economy. Also, Other
investors willing to invest resources in the district would be forcefully
turned away. According to him, studies have shown that short working hours,
reduced market penetration, higher operation overheads, and a disincentive to
investors, among others, are the major consequences of insecurity as a major
threat to community development and the nation as a whole.
EDUCATION
In his take on education,
Dr. Atim opined that education was one of the weighty pillars for unearthing
the talents, energies, and synergies of the young ones for the collective
benefit of the district and the nation as a whole.
According to him, education was one of the significant tools for combating poverty; unfortunately, in the Builsa South District, not all parents are sensitive to this fact. Using himself as an example, he and his siblings were fortunate to have been given the best education. Regrettably, investment in education in the Builsa South District, especially the girl-child education was nothing to write home about. Quoting Malcolm X, the Health Economist, said "Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today", thus, it was very important parents in the district took the education of their wards very seriously.
Dr. Atim added that, in
the year 2002, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNESCO) declared
that human resource development was a fundamental aspect of poverty eradication
and vital to the process of sustainable development, contributing to sustained
economic growth, social development, and environmental protection. According to
him, in this declaration, health and education were considered essential
commodities in a community development, and thus urged the full integration of
these into macroeconomic policies, not excluding poverty reduction programs,
and prioritization of education to community development around education and
health.
He has therefore challenged
the local authorities in the district to prioritize education and health in
their budgetary allocations since those were essential commodities in every
community advancement.
Dr. Atim also wondered
why many people were willing to contribute, both financially and in kind to the
advancement of their alma mater in faraway regions to the neglect of schools in
their communities that probably need more aid. In his opinion, those gestures
tend to perpetuate the inequalities of the past.
According to him, to
arrest the issue of poor academic performance in the district we need to learn
from other countries like India and some other African countries. He said that
the experiences in those countries have shown that investment in "pupil
teachers and extra classes have yielded massive results with regards to
students' performance. Therefore, the best option was for the community to set
up an education support fund and then charge our educational authorities with
interventions aimed at addressing some key challenges and improving
performances.
HEALTH
On the issue of health,
Dr. Atim said there has been some improvement in the provision of health care
services in the district over the years, especially with the introduction of
the Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) and the National Health
Insurance Scheme (NHIS). "While CHPS compounds have helped to address some
challenges with respect to physical access, NHIS, which was established in
2003, has been designed to address financial access". He has said.
Ironically, the
introduction of CHPS and NHIS have not quite holistically been able to address
the health needs of the rural folks such as the Builsa South District. In his
opinion, the mere existence of a CHPS compounds in a community does not in any
way translate into effective use of the service. Also, many rural folks are
poor and therefore have no means of paying for some essential services, yet the
NHIS, as it stands now, does not cover some basic, especially preventive and
promotive services, which people will usually pay for as individuals.
"To compound the
situation, the unavailability of qualified health workers in the rural
communities in Ghana has been a major challenge over the years". He has
stated. Explaining further, Dr. Atim said, "the Upper East Region and for
that matter, the Builsa South District have been at the receiving end of health
workers refusing postings to serve in our facilities"; a situation he
described as very disturbing.
Dr. Atim indicated that
lack of opportunities for personal career progression, lack of opportunities
for quality education for their wards, and limited economic incentives compared
to their peers in the urban areas, among a host of others as some of the
reasons why most health personnel often refused postings to the Builsa South
District.
To address the situation,
Dr. Atim encouraged BYSA and the community to help pay for NHIS membership of
the rural folk, and also provide the necessary incentives to attract more
personnel to the district.
Mr. John Apaabey, the
Presiding Officer of the Builsa South District, also speaking at the event highlighted
the relevance of education in every community development. According to him,
education in the district has improved over the years since most of the
district's Senior High School graduates were now gaining admission to the
tertiary institutions.
In terms of Health, Mr.
Apaabey said the district was doing well. According to him, almost all the electoral
centres in the Builsa South District now have health centres.
With regards to security,
Mr. Apaabey said the district now boasts of a Police Command. This according to
him has helped to reduce crime in the district to the barest minimum.
Mr. Apaabey has, however, outlined several challenges in the district that needed immediate attention. He indicated that the lack of educational logistics was a major problem hindering education in the district. For instance, most schools in the district lack textbooks, thus making teaching and learning extremely difficult. Also, the issue of teacher and nurse attrition was a major problem. According to him, most teachers and nurses, and other professionals often refused postings to the district due to reasons best known to themselves.
Mr. Apaabey congratulated
BYSA for its efforts in providing dual desks to some selected schools in the
district and urged them to do more to facilitate better teaching and learning
in the district. He further admonished BYSA to stay true to its vision and
remain united since that was the only way the association could achieve its
objectives.
OTHER SPEAKERS
Other speakers at the
program include Madam Lydia Lariba Bawa, a former NIC Commissioner, and a legal
Partitioner; Mr. Basco Akante, former Deputy Minister and patron of BSYA; His
Lordship Seth Alafa, Builsa Bisa Club Chairman and a Judge; Lawyer Michael
Akanbeg, a private Legal Practitioner; Naab Akanko A. Richard II, Chief of
Fumbisi among others.
All the speakers at the program, have counselled BSYA to remain focused and united since that was the only way the association could achieve its objective. BSYA was further advised to desist from partisan politics in order not to divide its front moving forward.
Madam Lydia Bawa, for
instance, admonished BSYA leadership not to be discouraged in the face of
difficulty. According to her, transparent and credible leadership were key
ingredients in every association. She has therefore called on the leadership of
the association to remain transparent and accountable at all times to arrest
the confidence of members for progress.
Lawyer Michael Akante, on
his part, advised the youth to desist from alcoholism and remain focused. He
also entreated the youth to avoid dabbling in partisan politics since it has
the potential of dividing the association. He has therefore called on BSYA to
be assertive, saying "anything worth doing is worth doing well".
Using BONABOTO (a youth
association in Bolgatanga) as an example, His Lordship Seth Alafa, Builsa Bisa
Club Chairman said, BONABOTO was able to achieve a lot as an association
because of its STRONG VOICE. Therefore, if BSYA could achieve anything
worthwhile, it needs a strong voice. He has, therefore, called on members of
BSYA to remain focused as the people of Babel in the scripture to achieve its
objectives.
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