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Breaking NewsDevelopment Agenda

SADA runs for five years without state funds

Latifa Carlos
Last updated: August 7, 2017 2:31 pm
Latifa Carlos
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5 Min Read
SADA boss-Charles Abugre
SADA boss-Charles Abugre
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It has emerged that the Savanna Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), a body established under an Act of Parliament to spearhead the economic and social development of the Northern Savannah Ecological Zone (NSEZ) has been starved of funds from government for the past five years.

 

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Public Agenda has learned that  the last  time  the  Organization  received money from the government was  in 2012  and  has since  been  relying mostly on  donor support.

 

The situation according to observers is an affront to section 18 of the SADA Act 805, (2010) which mandates government to make financial allocations to the organisation to help ensure its sustainability.

Speaking to Public Agenda on the issue, the Chief Executive Officer  of SADA, Mr Charles Akelyira  Abugre,  confirmed that indeed   the Authority   for some  years  now  has  not  received funding from government.

 

According to Mr Abugre, since the audit report was leaked regarding the tree planting and guinea fowl rearing in the early days of SADA, the government has not   really   funded the Authority.

 

He explained, “So the last funding was in 2012. In 2013, some money was committed in the budget but zero was disbursed. In 2014, nothing was committed. In 2015, I think 1million or so for salaries   was committed but less than Gh 250, 000   was disbursed. In 2016 about GHC, 235, 000 or so were committed, but I think Gh 123,000 or so was disbursed.”

 

Mr Abugre “continued that in 2017, Gh 2,080,000 was committed. So far, we are still waiting for the disbursement, but it is mostly salaries. But in 2017 the argument was that the government intends to create the Northern Development Authority, therefore they have made the allocation to the Northern Development Authority.”

 

Asked how  the  Authority  has  been  able  to weather the  storm till now, Mr Abugre, indicated  that   a  bit  of  the seed capital  that  was allocated to  the authority  during its  inception   remained  and  that  amount  was  used for  institutional  building,  employing the  staff,  building the systems among other things.

 

He submitted  further  that  aside the  remnants of  the  seed capital that was  used  for  the aforementioned  activities, all other programme activities  was  largely  being  financed  through development assistance.

 

He mentioned that the USAID, UNDP and  other  donor  agencies who “have  given us quite a  lot of support  in  several  ways  from   vehicles, equipment, support for  our regional offices  in Bolgatanga, Wa, Kintampo, Dambai  and  they  have  also financed  some  of   our  meetings  and workshops.”

 

He Added, “USAID supports our agricultural work and agricultural coordination. UNICEF has supported out monitoring and evaluation and health related work.  So a number of development partners are really supporting the institution.”

 

Mr Abugre mentioned that several projects are in the pipeline and will soon be set in motion, while others are functioning.

 

He posited that the irrigation scheme in Yagaba, in particular, is probably one of the best functioning irrigation schemes in the country but most do not know much about it.

He explained the dam “is about four hundred hectares and centre pivot to irrigation and out growers’ scheme. So it is quite successful and it is growing. SADA co-created it with African Tiger limited, but is it   run by a private company called IWAT.  So SADA doesn’t directly run it but co- owns the project and provides guidance. We have incubated other programmes which are now slowly coming into stream.”

 

In  addition , “there  is  solar energy  project  coming unto stream   and we  have  been  working to  get  the first major  shopping mall   in Tamale and  that is   getting closer,  it  will be  coming  on stream shortly.

 

 

 

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