Japan Embassy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Capacity Improvement for Wellbeing of the Vulnerable (CI-WED) and the Kpandai District Assembly in the Northern Region in Ghana for the construction of two classroom blocks under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security (GGHSP).
The MoU signed was $184,406.
The two classroom blocks, one each in the Central Gonja District of the Savanna Region and the other in the Kpandai District in the Northern Region cost $92,112 and $92, 294 respectively.
The Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Mochizuki Hisanobu, disclosed this while speaking at the signing ceremony in Accra.
He said that Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) activities had been supporting communities to identify and address challenges that affected them.
“This is why the GGHSP projects are aligned with the priorities identified by the communities themselves with the support of NGOs or local public authorities at the community level,” he stated.
The Japanese Ambassador also said that platform has been provided for cooperation between the communities and other key stakeholders for the successful implementation of the project.
He said the signing ceremony was to begin a process that would invest in the future of the children in the communities.
He added that “it is my hope that these two projects will contribute considerably to bridging the infrastructure gap so that the school children can compete with their colleagues in the urban areas.”
According to Mr Hisanobu, Japan had provided support for some grassroots projects including facility development in education, health, water and sanitation, agribusiness and women empowerment in Ghana through the GGHSP scheme.
He urged stakeholders to work together towards a successful implementation of the project so it could serve its purpose for a long time.
The Executive Director of CIWED, Baa-ko Abdul-Fatawu, said the contract agreement offered an opportunity to expand the educational and training cooperation between both countries.
He said that was due to the strong emphasis placed on public service by the embassy, adding that, the infrastructure when completed and fully utilized would serve both Kpatiya and Bombare as well as adjoining communities in the two regions.
He promised to judiciously use the grant to achieve the objectives of the project explaining that, regular updates would be provided in the form of reports on the projects in accordance with the embassy’s instructions.
