Government is to spend GH¢200 million over a five year period to implement the proposed Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), an ambitious policy being spearheaded by the government to help scale up the rate of development in northern Ghana.

Vice President John Dramani Mahama, who announced this on Wednesday, said the government has also allocated GH¢2.5 million as seed money so as to implement a number of development projects aimed at breaking the cycle of destitution in the area.

Vice President Mahama was speaking during an interaction with the Canadian High Commissioner, Mr Darren Schmmer at the Castle, Osu, on Wednesday.

The two discussed a number of developmental issues including the SADA policy, which is seen as one of the centre-piece policies by the government to tackle the dearth of infrastructure in northern Ghana.

A particular focus of SADA is how to reinvigorate shea as a viable industry, capable of helping reduce considerably the level of poverty in the three northern regions and the northern parts of the Volta and Brong Ahafo regions.

Vice President Mahama lauded Canada for her continual support for Ghana’s development strides and thanked the government of that country for keeping faith in her.

Canada, he said, continued to be an instrumental partner in rural development in the country and encouraged the High Commissioner to continue along that path.

Mr Schmmer promised further Canadian assistance in agriculture, especially irrigation, to support government’s efforts aimed at promoting agri-business.


Source: GNA