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The government intends to allocate GH¢150 million to the Zongo Development Fund (ZDF) to be used to fund development projects in Zongo communities nationwide.

The amount is about 32 per cent lower than the GH¢219 million that was allocated to the fund this year.

Although commendable, the GH¢150 million to be allocated to the fund would be less than the $50 million that the government had pledged to disburse to the fund on annual basis.

The fund is one of the government’s flagship programmes aimed at bridging the development gap in the country.

It was initiated by the governing New Patriotic Party in the lead up to the 2016 general elections and was subsequently implemented through an allocation in the government’s first budget this year.

Residents in the mostly densely-populated Zongos have peculiar infrastructure deficits, social services deficit, and poor sanitation management, which require special attention.

Over the years, these communities have been left behind in development planning and their needs have been poorly identified, leading to inadequate and sometimes inappropriate interventions in the provision of social services as well as physical infrastructures.

The fund is therefore aimed at regenerating and addressing the challenges faced by the communities which have been, most of the time, neglected.