A professor at the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development has asked people in the Ashanti Region to demand development and not blindly align with the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Prof. Yarhands Dissou Arthur says the Ashanti alliance with NPP has yet to deliver the social goods after years of getting the party to power.
He wants the people to go in for development, irrespective of the political party to lead the task.
About 60 towns in Ashanti Region have come together to form a group called Sompa Movement to spearhead the development of the region.
The agenda is spearheaded by chiefs within these towns to bring indigenes together for self-help development projects.
Infrastructure projects, scholarship schemes and providing jobs for the youth are key on the agenda.
Prof. Yarhands Dissou Arthur, Dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Mathematics Education at the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development believes excessive partisanship in Ashanti Region has been the bane of the region’s development.
The Sompa Movement is working with major stakeholders in education to identify schools under trees and dilapidated infrastructure in the region for support.
A member of the group, Agyewodin Nana Yaw Bawuah, Akyease Gyasehene says the level of infrastructure development in the region is appalling, hence their decision to start the initiative.
“There are a lot of schools in the region with inadequate furniture, some of these structures have their roofs ripped off and need to be fixed and we are working with all stakeholders to get them done,” he said.
A former Managing Director of the Bulk Oil Storage and Distribution company (BOST), Kwame Awuah-Darko, said the government alone cannot provide the development needs of the Ashanti Region, hence the need for concerted efforts to drive development.
“We must not depend on government for all our developmental needs, self-help project is the way to go and I’m ready to support any developmental projects Nananom bring on board,” he assured.