From Samuel Agbewode
The Krachi-Nchumuru District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr. Solomon Kuyon, has called on the people to cooperate with the District Assembly and support its efforts to bring development, saying as a new District a lot is needed to be done to meet the aspirations of the people.
The Krachi-Nchumuru District was part of the Krachi-West District until recently when it was created, thereby adding up to five districts that constitute the Krachi traditional area, which was formerly just one district.
This situation led to the underdevelopment of the traditional area over the years in view of its large size as it constituted almost half of the landmass of the Volta Region.
Mr. Kuyon, who made the call in an interview with The Chronicle at Chinderi, observed that as a result of the deprived nature of the area, the people continued to face many development challenges, particularly, in the areas of quality health care and education.
The DCE pointed out that the District currently was passing through what he described as a transition, in terms of provision of quality health care to the people, because it had no hospital and largely depended on health centers and clinics, but these health facilities were not well equipped to address the basic health needs of the people.
As a result, Mr. Kuyon said anti-snake bite serums were not available at the various clinics and health centers.
The people, who are mostly farmers, when bitten by a snake in course of their farming activities have to be carried on motorbikes to the nearest hospital at Kete-Krachi in the Krachi-West District.
This is a journey of about three hours drive and that some of these victims die on the way.
Mr. Kuyon continued that the most serious health problem had to do with pregnant women, who during delivery find it extremely difficult, and have to be referred to the Krachi Government Hospital at Kete-Krachi.
He noted that during such situations, the victim is between life and death, because the woman would either deliver on the way or die during the process, while the baby survives, or both mother and child die.
The DCE said the renowned Nigeria Prophet, T.B Joshua provided the District with an ambulance, but within a period of one year, the ambulance broke down as a result of the bad road network.
This compelled the Assembly to convert the only pick-up vehicle it has into an ambulance to carry sick people, pregnant women and those suffering from snake bites to the Krachi Hospital.
Mr. Kuyon pointed out that the bad road network compounded the problem, because a distance, for instance, that could take two hours to drive, would last for three hours from Chinderi to Kete-Krachi.
He stressed that the major road to Kete-Krachi was in a very bad state, which was the major concern of the people.
He said the District Assembly, in its efforts to improve upon the road network in the area, purchased a grader to re-shape the roads regularly, but unfortunately, during the rainy season, heavy rains washed away the road, leaving many of the roads in worse shape.
EDUCATION
Touching on issues of education, the DCE said the Assembly had put up a number of new classrooms for the Primary and Junior High schools (JHS) in the District, where the pupils and students were studying under trees.
According to Mr. Kuyon, in the past, most of the schools studying under trees had to close anytime the rain threatened to fall, adding that efforts were being made to remove the rest of schools.
Mr. Kuyon said the Bejamse JHS was recently built and was making teaching and learning more attractive to the students.
He promised that the Assembly was working hard in collaboration with the Member of Parliament for the area to further improve upon the standards of living of the people.
He continued that the government had started building a Community Senior High School at Chinderi, to ensure that JHS graduates, upon completion, would not travel long distances to continue their education.
The Krach-Nchumuru DCE observed that the fast pace at which the contractor was executing the project showed the importance the government attached to the project..
Mr. Kuyon disclosed that due to the high poverty, most parents were unable to pay the school fees of their wards, who qualify to tertiary institutions such as the university, nurses training colleges, and colleges of education among others.
He revealed that the Assembly had taken over the payment of admission fees and registration fees of many of the students.
He announced that the situation, where most parents were not able to give financial assistance to their children to further their education to a higher level, became a worry to the Assembly, because the component of the Assembly’s Common Fund that would be used to support the education of these students was not enough.
Sometimes he had to use his salary to pay school and registration fees for these students.
SECURITY
Mr. Kuyon pointed out that one major concern of the Assembly was to promote peace, which, he noted, was the prerequisite for the development of every society.
He said as a result of the premium placed on security, the Assembly had put up a new police station at Chinderi, and would also provide accommodation for the personnel.
This is a new District, and development would take a gradual process to achieved, and I urge everybody to be part of the development drive, for anything that would affect the peace in the area would equally affect the process of growth of the District,” he concluded.
PIX 1: Ongoing construction of the community SHS at Chinderi, the District capital of Krachi Nchumuru
PIX 2: The newly-built police station at Chinderi
PIX 3: The newly built JHS by the Assembly at Bejamse
PIX 4: The Krachi Nchumuru District Chief Executive, Mr. Solomon Kuyon