<<Print>>

Alhaji Limuna Mohammed Muniru, Northern Regional Minister, has appealed to the leadership of Parliament, to help approve more resources for the Northern Regional Coordinating Council (NRCC) and the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the region to enhance their work. Alhaji Muniru, who made the appeal when the leadership of Parliament and Members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), called on him in Tamale on Wednesday, said more resources would better enhance the performance of the NRCC and its MMDAs to honour their responsibilities to the public. The leadership of Parliament�s delegation was in the region to interact with the people, aimed at bringing Parliament to their doorsteps, while the PAC would be holding a four-day hearing on the accounts of public senior high schools drawn from the three Northern Regions. The leadership of Parliament�s delegation was led by Mr Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, the Minority Leader, and comprised of some members of the Majority Caucus in Parliament and the Clerk of Parliament. Alhaji Muniru said the vast nature of the region coupled with its peculiar security challenges always put a strain on the budget of the MMDAs, because such security challenges are not always captured when drawing the budget. He said in those situations, resources meant for other projects are always channeled into efforts at maintaining peace to the detriment of development projects. He cited the current security situation in the East Mamprusi and Bunkpurugu Yunyoo Districts, where a team of military and police personnel had been deployed to maintain peace, saying a lot of resources were being used to cater for the security personnel in those areas. He, therefore, appealed to Parliament to consider such circumstances and approve more resources for the NRCC and its MMDAs to enable them to effectively discharge their obligations. Alhaji Muniru described Parliament�s meeting with the people as laudable, since it would send a positive signal to the people that Parliamentarians worked as a team, but are not divided along party lines. Mr Mensah-Bonsu described the Minister�s appeal as valid adding �It should be forwarded to the Financial Committee of Parliament for consideration.� He called for more efforts to protect citizens and ensure peace in the region, as government worked to attract investments into the country and the region as a whole.