Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly urged to construct parking lot

The Bolgatanga Zonal Local Civic Coalition (LCC), a Local group, has appealed to the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly to construct a parking lot, as a matter of urgency, for vehicles in the Region. The Group made the call on Friday during a maiden meeting held at Kumbusgo in the Municipality, to brainstorm on issues affecting them, and find solutions to problems in the area. The formation of the LCC was facilitated by the Foundation for Grassroots Initiatives Africa, an NGO working to promote good governance and empower the marginalized in the Upper East Region, to participate in decision making and provide capacity building for the groups to undertake its activities. Members of the Bolgatanga Zonal LCC stated that the absence of a parking lot was one of the major causes of road accidents in the Region, especially in the Municipality. They explained that because of the lack of parking lots in the Region, majority of drivers who used Bolgatanga as a transit point to Togo, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, parked their vehicles indiscriminately thereby causing congestion and making the movement of other road users very difficult, resulting in accidents. The LCC members said the construction of a parking lot in the Municipality and other areas of the region would help curtail the carnage on roads and it could also help generate revenue for the Municipal Assembly. The Capacity building Officer of the LCC Project, Mr. James Awini said his outfit would continue to provide capacity building to help the Group carry out its duties effectively. He urged them to always identify issues affecting them, and to work on them by using the skills and knowledge acquired from the capacity building programmes that GrassRootsAfrica offered them. Mr. Edwin N Batiir, Project Development Officer of LCC stated that the LCC Project would facilitate information sharing and awareness creation on issues among communities, facilitate the dissemination of District Assembly plans, Budgets, Programmes, activities, and help promote participatory planning and decision making among others. The Bolgatanga Municipal LCCs comprising Sumbrungu, Zuarungu and Bolgatanga Zonal LCC have drawn up a programme to sensitize people on the effects of rural urban migration of school children, especially girls to the southern sector. They said they would target parents and school children to educate them on the effects of rural urban migration of girls to the south. The members of the Group said they would also liaise with GPRTU and other stakeholders to help prevent girls from migrating to the southern sector.