Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and business ventures in the Savannah region of Ghana have called for strategic implication and execution of programmes and projects to help the growth and development of the region. The organizations also called for the active collaborative efforts to complement government toward improving lives of communities.
The call was made during a two-day meeting of Savannah region Civil Society Organizations (SaCSO) in Damongo on 16th and 17th July, 2025 at the Catholic Guest house conference hall.
Executive Director for Jaksally Organization Jeremiah Seidu led facilitation for the two-day meeting.
Welcoming members to the meeting John Kanyiti, Executive Director, Care for Deprived Communities (CDC) and Coordinator for the Savannah regional CSOs platform expressed gratitude to the organizations for making time to be part of the meeting and said the purpose of the meting was to put all CSOs operating in the Savannah region together on one platform to pull resources together for development.
“The purpose of this meeting is to build a larger CSO front in the region. It will help CSOs to build synergies together to help develop communities.
The Savannah regional CSOs platform will complement government efforts to get development for various communities. All governments over the years have gotten very good ideas for the North. Good programmes are put in place to help develop the North, however, very little is seen in spite of all these ideas and policies”
John Kanyiti added that “we are putting ourselves together to partner with the government for development. We have a regional planning committee that will coordinate activities of CSOs and other organizations to avoid duplication of projects or programmes in various districts and communities”.
The Savannah regional minister Lawyer Salisu Bia-Awurbe who graced the meeting said he was worried that the highest incident of multi-dimentional poverty rate is 49.5% as revealed by the Savannah regional Commissioner for the National Development Planning Commission, Dr Sachibu.
The regional minister said “development cannot be done by the central government alone and needs the support of the private sector. So let’s keep working together to support our communities because we are leaving no one behind”.
The fight against environmental destruction in Ghana is much dear to the Reset Agenda by the John Mahama administration.
The minister said “the agenda is not just about infrastructural development but also includes our mindset.
The government of the day will improve the fight against environmental destruction. I have appealed to all the municipal and district assemblies in the region to hire the services of competent lawyers to help them enact bylaws to deal with actors destroying the environment”.
He disclosed that Savannah regional coordinating council together with all stakeholders, will hold Education stakeholders forum in August 2025. This is geared toward improving the current education standards in the region and bylaws will be enacted to deal with parents whose children are out of school.
He therefore, called on CSOs to factor education into their programmes and policies to improve the sector in the region.
Salisu Bia-Awurbe appealed to all organizations to exchange information with one another since it’s vital in pulling synergies together for development.
All organizations need to be effective and efficient in the use of scarce resources because we are leaving no one behind.
Hon. West Gonja Municipal Chief Executive, Iddrisu Yakubu Castro Jnr commended the organizers of the program and assured his outfit is ready to partner with the CSOs to develop the area.
The meeting was attended by members of 16 different organizations, Queen Mother’s platform, among others.
Abdulai Zulkaninu
