The sissala east district has made great progress in
the fourth republic of Ghana’s democratic rule from the then Sissala district
to the current Sissala east district upon the demarcation of the then sissala
district into sissala east and west districts with Tumu being the district
capital for east and Gwollu becoming the capital for the west.
Pondering over developmental matters within the
district from the past years till date, one can without hesitation conclude
that the land of the Sissala has seen the light of day irrespective of which
government is in power in our current practice of democracy especially the
Sissala east district though they two districts are still in need of much
infrastructural development.
In the first parliament of the fourth republic that
is in the era of the first John of the republic, Alhaji Amidu Sulemana being
the then member of parliament when the two districts were together as one contributed
his quota and can best be remembered with the construction of drainage and the
tarring of a few stretch of the commercial street and the connection of the
district to the national grid. Besides being the MP alone, he equally served
the two upper regions as the regional minister consecutively and demonstrated
great sense of maturity, leadership and good governance especially in the areas
of peace building and conflict resolutions within the regions. The people of Wa
and Bolgatanga can best testify to his dogmatic charisma.
Honorable Moses Baah succeeded him in the second
parliament of the fourth republic and equally strived to raise the district to
another milestone. Hon. Moses was assigned deputy ministerial position in the
regime of His Excellency, president Kufour, the second John of the republic in
the health sector where he made enormous contributions in uplifting the health
status of the district. Hon. Moses in his quest for development was able to
attract the attention of an international NGO plan Ghana into the district.
Mere words can’t describe gargantuan impact of plan on the Sissalas. In the
field of agriculture, health, education, micro finance, livelihood programs,
gender and women empowerment, just to mention a few of the activities of plan
Ghana in the district. Plan also served as a buttress to the local NGOs and
other civil society groups within the district into their line of programs.
In another development, hon. Moses squeezed water
out of rocks to assist the district hospital with an ambulance within the nation’s
scarce resources in his capacity as a deputy minister to aid in emergency
services. Lots of lives of the sissala people were save especially women in
labour from surrounding communities without and with health facilities and
traditional birth attendance. Cases above the district hospital were equally
referred out of the district without any hindrance with the ambulance. One
important issue worth mention is the vibrant nature of the sissala union. The
activities of the union surpassed individual interest such that it was a joy
for all sissalas in all walks of life to come home in their numbers to be
present at the annual unions meeting at the end of the year. Student groups
were not equally left out, sissala students union in the various institutions
were all doing very well then. The transportation sector was not left out as a
few kilometers of the Tumu- Navrongo road was tarred to the outskirts of the
town.
Mother is how most us call her. Hajia Rafatu Halutie
represented the people of the sissala east in parliament after hon. Moses Baah.
In one way or the other, almost everyone especially the youth called on her
when for medical attention when she was at the district hospital where she
served her people for a very long time.
As a member of parliament, hajia had much influence
on the youth of the land through her perseverance and the concern and love she
had all especially women. Her plight was to improve upon the health sector in
the district. “The health of the sissala is the wealth of the Sissala” she
often says. Her love for her profession in the health service prompted her to
expand and
resourced the district hospital when the opportunity came to boost health
services in the district. The educational sector was not left unattended; the
senior high/technical school was raised to a boarding status, a midwifery
training school was established in the district and scholarships awarded to some
tertiary students from the district. The transportation network within the
district capital was also improved by tarring some of the township road and
made efforts to get the route linking the two regional capitals completed in
time. Most of the rural communities in the district had their first share of
the national cake by being connected to the national grid, an experience most
will cherish a life time.
Honorable Sulemana Alijata is the current member of
parliament for the sissala east constituency who is barely a year old in
parliament. A month ago, the MP distributed a good number of computers some schools
within the district to assist in the teaching and learning of ICT in those
schools. Other schools were equally assisted to illuminate their compounds in
the night with public lighting systems. As an industrious woman, the progress
of the district depends so much on her and we pray and hope that she delivers
just like her predecessors or better.
The success of all the MPs mentioned above depended
so much on the synergy that existed between them and the district chief
executives in their era as MPs. The district for almost a year now still has no
DCE to steer the affairs of the district. After the first appointee was turned
down through assembly voting, nothing has been done for quite some time now.
Competency lies in the hands of the almighty and we pray that God bless the
president of the republic of Ghana and grant him the ability to choose the
people’s choice to move on. The world is an impeccable one and therefore we
should learn to forgive those who wrong us so that the good lord may find
favour with us. The beauty of the day starts with the rays of the sun.
God bless Ghana, god bless the sissala land!!!
HAPPY NEW!
By Ayuba Oseini
0269838215