President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo with Ben Abdallah Banda
President Akufo-Addo has named a former Member of Parliament (MP) for Offinso South and the Chairman of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee in Parliament, Ben Abdallah Banda as Special Coordinator for Zongo Development under the Office of the President, MyNewsGh.com has confirmed.
This appointment comes after the government decided to move oversight of Zongo and Inner City Development from the Ministry of Zongo and Inner Cities Development to the Presidency when the Ministry was scrapped.
Mr. Ben Abdallah Banda as Special Coordinator is expected to, together with the Chief Executive Officer and the ZDF board, lead the Zongo Development Agenda in Ghana, MyNewsGh.com was hinted by insiders.
The establishment of the Zongo Development Fund has been credited with the rapid provision of educational opportunities, human development and infrastructure development in Zongo communities.
In the past four years, the Fund has provided classroom blocks, water systems, drainage systems, access roads and bridges in a number of Zongos, as well as offered entrepreneurial and vocational training opportunities to many young people.
In the area of education, the ZDF has provided tertiary grants to over 200 people, as well as provided scholarships to 40 brilliant but needy students from Zongo communities to study medicine in Cuba.
2016 campaign promise
Prior to the 2016 elections, the NPP promised to establish the Zongo Development Fund to solely focus on the development of Zongo communities. But following the party’s victory in the 2016 elections, President Akufo-Addo added a bonus, by establishing a full ministry to partner the Zongo Development Fund Secretariat to execute the vision of developing Zongos.
After trying the dual roles in the first term of the Akufo-Addo administration, government has decided to scrap the Ministry and fully back the ZDF to continue with the Zongo development mission.