The Savannah Regional Coordinating Council on Friday 15 November 2024 engaged the Media On SOCO projects at the RCC conference center in Damongo.
Speaking to the Media, the Savannah Regional Minister, Hon. Muhazu Jibril stated that the SOCO Project is a multi-country initiative with a total budget of USD 450 million, funded by the World Bank. Of this, USD 150 million has been allocated to Ghana.
The Regional Minister added that the project is designed to address the complex challenges faced by the northern regions of the Gulf of
Guinea countries (Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, and Benin).
“These regions have long been grappling with vulnerabilities such as food insecurity, climate change, conflict, and violence, which have led to high levels of fragility and so these challenges have made our youth and communities highly susceptible to extremist ideologies, further exacerbating regional instability” he said.
Hon. Muhazu Jibril noted that the SOCO Project seeks to support the most affected areas, particularly those in Ghana’s Upper West, Upper East, Northern, North East, Savannah, and Oti Regions.
The Minister mentioned that the SOCO Project aims to build socio-economic resilience across 48 districts within these regions, focusing on improving livelihoods and strengthening community cohesion. It seeks to achieve this through strategic investments in infrastructure, local economic development, and youth engagement activities.
At the heart of the project is the Community-Driven Development (CDD) approach, which empowers communities to make participatory decisions about investments in their areas, fostering a sense of ownership and ensuring that interventions are in line with local needs and priorities.
A total of 530 infrastructure subprojects have been successfully implemented, with an estimated investment of GHC 184,777,742.07.
These projects span vital sectors,
including Education, Health, Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH),
connectivity, natural resource management, climate adaptation, local economic development, and youth development. Notable achievements include:
• 33 roads and culverts,
• 59 classroom blocks with teacher accommodations,
• 73 rural markets
• 66 health facilities,
• 210 water systems.
In conclusion the Minister stated that he is proud to report that the SOCO Project has received unwavering support from the Government of Ghana.
The initiative has the full commitment of our President, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and our Vice President and Presidential Candidate for the NPP, His Excellency Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who has been deeply involved in every phase of the project.
As a result of the success seen thus far, the Government is now considering a request for additional financing to expand the scope of the SOCO Project.
This will allow us to extend the benefits of the project to the remaining 16 non-beneficiary districts in the six implementing regions.
Source: yagbonradioonline/Fataw Diwura
