Mahmud Khalid.
He said records show that 55.1 per cent of men in the Upper West Region are literate with that of the women at 33.8.
That, according to the Regional Minister was not the best and had played a debilitating role in the region’s quest to get its people out of the poverty brackets.
Mr. Khalid stated this last Friday when he addressed an advocacy workshop on the integration of population variables into District Plans.
The workshop, organised by the Upper West Regional Secretariat of the National Population Council, attracted Municipal and District Chief Executives, Presiding Members and District Development Planners.
Mr. Khalid called for the rejuvenation of the Non-Formal Education Division (NFED) of the Ministry of Education at the various Assembly levels to equip the illiterate adults with functional literacy skills.
That, Mr. Khalid said would make adults not only literates but equip them with employable skills.
Another area of concern raised by the Regional Minister was seasonal emigration of the people during school holidays or the dry season to the south to look for blue colour jobs with its implications on health and the human resource potentials of their localities.
He-urged assemblies to take investment initiatives seriously especially with regards to cottage industries like handicrafts, dry season gardening and smock weaving as a way of retaining the people back home.
Mr. Khalid commended the Wa Municipal Assembly for teaming up with Leper City of Belgium to set up a juice factory saying, “there is no doubt that this has created jobs directly and indirectly and will, invariably better the financial fortunes of the Assembly if prudently managed.”
He urged various Assemblies to lake steps to check rapid population growth in the region in view of the fact that poverty was rife, adding, “else we will be giving birth to hopeless children as the requisite resources to support them to grow into useful citizens will be lacking.”