Funding development in Zongo communities – Challenges, efforts and prospects

Across the country, there are about 3,000 Zongo communities; and nearly all of these communities lag behind in socio-economic development, compared to other communities. Literacy rates are low, while many of the youth are without employable skills.

The earlier settlers in Zongo communities, mainly from the neighbouring countries of Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Burkina Faso, the northern parts of Ghana and also from the Sahelian countries such as Mali and Niger, made no attempt to put up structured buildings or to ensure the proper demarcation of the communities they settled in as they were of the view that they were temporary dwellers. The word Zongo is said to be a corruption of the original Hausa word “Zango”, which means a temporary abode.

With no concrete steps taken to address the challenges in such communities by successive governments, it increased the developmental gap between such and other communities in the country.

It was to address the challenges that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo created the Ministry of Inner-City and Zongo Development (MICZD) and the Zongo Development Fund (ZoDF) in 2017, in fulfilment of a promise he made to the Zongo communities during the 2016 electioneering.

Ministry

The MICZD has the mandate of formulating and overseeing the implementation of policies, programmes and projects in alleviating poverty and ensuring that inner-cities and Zongo communities become inclusively developed and prosperous.

The ZoDF, on the other hand, backed by Act 964, provides legal framework for the financial resources to develop and transform the social and economic conditions of Zongo communities. It is expected to leverage its seed fund from the government to attract additional funding from international partners, private sector institutions, civil society organisations and other non-governmental organisations.

Money from the fund is to be invested in basic services and strategic infrastructure; to finance education and training programmes for the youth; to support local businesses; promote programmes in support of tourism, culture and arts and provide social protection for the poor and vulnerable children, men and women.

At the Eid-ul-Fitr prayer grounds at the Black Star Square on June 5, 2019, President Akufo-Addo announced that the Ministry of Finance had signed a commencement warrant for the MICZD to begin spending on projects in Zongo communities from the ZoDF allocation in the 2019 budget.

Despite its short lifespan as a ministry, the MICZD has achieved a lot of successes so far, while the ZoDF has also initiated projects across the country. It is worthy to note that the projects are targeted at specific groups, such as women, the youth and schoolchildren, while the impacts are positively seen in the lives of the beneficiaries.

Arabic instructors

The MICZD has created a conducive teaching environment and promoted teaching and learning in Zongo communities. It has recruited 3,000 Arabic instructors to teach Arabic in the primary and junior high schools (JHSs) under the Islamic Education Unit and in Makaranta schools.

The smart intervention by the MICZD ensures employment for Islamic instructors, while pupils are given the opportunity to study the Arabic language. There are also interventions in the renovation of school buildings and the donation of educational materials.

Health screening

The MICZD, under a programme initiated by Mr Boniface Abubakar Siddique and continued by Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, in partnership with the Iran Clinic, organises health screening exercises for the poor and vulnerable at Madina, Weija, Gbawe, Maamobi, Afienya and Tuba, all in the Greater Accra Region. A total of 1,333 people and 10 schools have so far benefited.

Additionally, health screening exercises have commenced for selected Zongo communities in the Central Region. So far, about 700 people have benefited from the exercise at Winneba Zongo. About 2,500 people are expected to benefit in future.

Development effort

Many Zongo communities face challenges of acute water supply, while sanitation is also poor due to the unplanned nature of the communities. To assist in improving the situation, the MICZD has collaborated with the Qatar Charity to construct mechanised boreholes in some Zongo communities across the country.

With sports and recreational facilities, the MICZD has taken a giant step in developing astroturfs and green parks in some communities in Madina, Fadama, Kyebi, Walewale, Asawase, Bolga, Oda, Salaga, Yeji and old Tafo. Nationwide stakeholder consultations have been completed for the organisation of Zongo soccer leagues to unearth the sporting talents in the youth and also for social cohesion.

Zongo women are some of the best cooks in the country, but they lack the branding and marketing expertise to package and add value to their products to attract more customers and increase profitability.

So far, more than 500 women have received training in food safety, packaging, product standardisation, business registration and documentation and entrepreneurship and financial literacy in the Zongo cuisine promotion project by the MICZD.

Under Dr Abdul-Hamid’s leadership, the MICZD has initiated Information and Communications Technology (ICT) programmes to equip the youth and women with ICT skills. The projects include Zongo Coders, Zongo StarHub and the Females in Tech initiative.

ZoDF pipeline projects

The ZoDF has completed the validation and assessment of some projects in nine regions so far and the validation for the remaining seven regions has started. Construction has started on some of the projects.

The projects include the construction of drainage systems, schools, roads, libraries, community clinics and toilet facilities.

The ZoDF has opened bids for some of the projects and the target, according to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the ZoDF, Mr Arafat Sulemana Abdulai, is to start and finish most of the projects by the first quarter of next year.

Mr Abdulai has indicated his readiness to ensure the speedy implementation of all the projects to touch more lives in Zongo communities.