<<Print>>

President John Dramani Mahama for the first time joined his kinsmen in Bole in the Bole District of the Northern Region to celebrate this year�s Christmas. The president who travelled to his hometown in the company of his wife and children, was joined by the Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mohammed-Muniru Limuna and some district chief executives to wine and dine with his people, especially women and children. Last year, the president spent the holidays in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, with his family, earning him the sobriquet �Kofi Dubai.� In his New Year message to the people of Bole and its environs, he assured of his government�s commitment in advancing the �better Ghana� agenda it promised in order to improve the living conditions of Ghanaians. He admitted that the country is currently faced with economic challenges, but said that had not halted development as perceived by a section of the Ghanaian populace and maintained that the country would get to its preferred destination. Giving reasons for his decision to spend this year�s Christmas with the chiefs and people of Bole, President Mahama observed that during festivities everybody goes home so he decided to visit Bole which is also his home. According to him, Bole plays an important role in his political life as it is the place he further nurtured his political career, serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for several terms before becoming a vice president and subsequently president. He thanked the chiefs and people of the area and said government was doing its best in the midst of challenges by extending electricity supply all over the districts in the country. �In 2008 when the NDC took over government, access to electricity was only 52 percent and today 76 percent of Ghanaians have access to electricity,� the president disclosed. He announced that Ghana had achieved the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target of access to portable water, with the implementation of government�s small town water system programme across the country. The president also hinted about the completion of similar projects in the eastern corridor and 20 communities in the Bunkprugu-Yunyoo district of the Northern Region. President Mahama expressed optimism that with the numerous visible developmental projects, Ghanaians would retain the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in power come 2016