Tunni community connected to national grid: Ghanatoday.net

By
Godfred A. Polkuu, GNA

Tunni, (NE/R) Feb 4,
GNA – Hajia Alima Mahama, the Minister of Local Government and Rural
Development, has commissioned a project to connect Tunni, a community in the
Gambaga Municipality of the North East Region, to the national electricity grid
under the Rural Electrification Project.

The Project formed
part of government’s vision to achieve universal electricity coverage and aims
at connecting 622 communities in the Savannah, North East, Northern, Upper East
and Upper West Regions by end of 2020.

The community, which
has a population of over 2,000 and two polling stations, could not hide their
joy at a durbar after the Minister switched on the first light in the area.

Speaking to
Journalists at Tunni, after addressing the durbar of Chiefs and people of the
area, the Minister said Tunni was the 39th community in the region to be
connected to the national grid and there were about 50 more communities yet to
have electricity.

The Minister, in the
company of Mr Danladi Abdul-Nashir, the Gambaga Municipal Chief Executive,
Regional and Constituency Executives, said they were linking up with the
Ministry of Energy for support.

Hajia Mahama, also
the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Nalerigu-Gambaga Constituency called on
members of the community, especially women to take advantage of the electricity
and venture into businesses that would be of economic benefit and enable them
earn a living.     

She said she was
content with the level of development in the Region, adding that apart from the
electricity supply, government had constructed a Community-Based Health
Planning and Services (CHPS) compound in the community to cater for their
health needs.

“The next thing is
for us to get the supplies to the facility; the beds and equipment. The
District Directorate has already assigned someone to take care of the place,
and that person has been given a motorbike,” she said.

The Chief of the
community, Naa Kassim Salifu, expressed gratitude to the MP and government for extending
electricity to the community, and appealed to government to include the
community in its development agenda.

Some community
members, who spoke to the Ghana News Agency after the programme, said it was a
delight to see light in the community, which would be of economic benefit to
them, and appealed to the Minister to assist them with refrigerators to enable
them start businesses such as the sale of sachet water and locally prepared
drinks.

GNA