The Ministry of Inner Cities and Zongo Development will soon disburse funds from the Zongo Development Fund (ZDF) captured in the 2019 Budget, for the commencement of infrastructural developments at the Zongo communities in the country.
This follows the signing of the 2019 Commencement Warrant for the Zongo Development Ministry, to officially draw funds from the Zongo Development Fund for the provision of some infrastructure projects at the country’s Zongos.
The fund will be used to provide water, rehabilitate school blocks and build new ones, desks for Islamic schools and rehabilitate tertiary drains to help resolve the challenges that bedevil the Zongo communities.
The officers of the Zongo Development Fund, based on the requests that they have received from across Zongo communities, have already translated the commencement warrant into actionable projects, and work on these various projects should start very soon.
Addressing the National Chief Imam, Zongo Chiefs and Muslims at the celebrations of this year’s Eid ul-Fitr at the Independence Square, Wednesday, June 5, 2019, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said the Ministry of Inner Cities and Zongo Development was specifically set up, to make the inner cities and Zongo communities a major part of the nation’s development agenda.
“We want to ensure that inner cities and Zongo communities no longer become exclusion zones for breeding despair and hopelessness. The task may be daunting, but our determination is unwavering,” he added.
With 1,080 Zongo communities in Ghana, each clamouring for much-needed interventions to make life more bearable and comfortable, President Akufo-Addo expressed his utmost confidence in the sector Minister.
“I urge you to give him the maximum co-operation that is needed to deliver on the vision of the government. Let us be focused as we embark on the journey towards bringing prosperity to the over four million people who live in our Zongo communities,” he added.
President Akufo-Addo congratulated the Muslim Ummah of Ghana on braving the pangs of hunger and thirst for an entire month.
“Besides the spiritual attainment of the month, you deserve commendation for the strict disciplinary code that you have adhered to throughout the period. I pray that Allah accepts our collective prayers, continues to shower his grace, mercies and peace on our nation, and makes her great and strong,” he added.
He also congratulated the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr. Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, on his 100th birthday, joining the exclusive club of centenarians.
By every measure, it is a blessed and privileged club. The National Chief Imam’s guidance of the Muslim flock in Ghana has been truly exemplary, and we continue to pray for Almighty’s blessings of wisdom, good health, long life, and prosperity for him,” the President said.
He further urged Muslims to uphold the virtues of Ramadan, stressing that “if there are any Muslim citizens who are in a hurry to remove the garb of Ramadan and resume the “business as usual” attitude, I urge you to reflect on the word, as contained in the Quran, and I quote, ‘fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may attain righteousness’.
President Akufo-Addo reiterated the commitment of the government to the task of delivering prosperity to the Ghanaian people.
To that extent, every policy, that we have pursued so far, has been meant to engender inclusiveness, so that we can move away from the old system of governance that left many Ghanaians at the periphery,” the President said.
Source: ISD (Rex Mainoo Yeboah)
