By Sualah Abdul-wahab
The Nadowli-Kaleo District Assembly in the Upper West Region has appealed to the government to deploy some Blue Water Guards personnel to the district to help prevent illegal mining activities on the Black Volta. Speaking at the Assembly’s second session of the fourth assembly at Nadowli, the District Chief Executive, Madam Mary Haruna, said despite previous engagements and a formal request for the deployment of Blue Water Guards to the area, the situation persists. “We reiterate our appeal to the relevant national security and environmental protection agencies to expedite support and enforcement actions to safeguard our natural resources”, Madam Haruna stated.
While acknowledging the commendable efforts of the security agencies, the DCE highlighted pressing concerns that also require immediate attention. She said in recent months, there have been reported cases of robbery attacks along the Ombo-Tibani stretch, posing a serious threat to the safety of commuters and traders. She urged the Ghana Police Service to intensify patrols and visibility along this corridor in order to deter criminal activity and restore public confidence.
Madam Haruna used the occasion to update the House on efforts made in the last few months in Health, Agriculture, Water and Sanitation, Road Infrastructure, Internally Generated Fund, and Rural Electrification, among others.
Rural Electrification
The DCE said the Assembly engaged the Center for Opportunities and Rural Development (CORD-GHANA), a Tamale-based NGO, during its recent visit to the district. She said CORD-GHANA agreed to add more communities along the Black Volta to the beneficiary list under its rural electrification initiative. The project seeks to deploy solar lighting systems to improve safety, education, and economic activity in underserved areas. The DCE lauded this noble intervention and entreated assembly members and other stakeholders to cooperate and support CORD-GHANA to ensure a successful implementation and long-term impact.
Internally Generated Fund
Touching on Internally Generated Fund (IGF), Madam Haruna noted that effective mobilization and prudent management of IGF is critical for sustaining local governance and development initiatives. The Assembly, she indicated, targeted ₵452,622.25, out of which ₵379,424.84 was realized as at the end of September 2025, representing an overall performance of 84%. “This is a strong outcome, suggesting that the Assembly is on course to meet or possibly exceed its annual revenue target if the current momentum is maintained in the final quarter”, Madam Haruna added.
Support to PWDs
The District Chief Executive hinted that the Assembly is to benefit from a project targeting People Living with Disabilities (PWDs). She said the African Disability Policy Advocates (ADPA) signed a deal with the Nadowli-Kaleo District which will see to the empowering of People Living with Disability to make them financially independent. ”An MoU was signed at a brief ceremony held on the 16th October 2025. We expect to see some training programmes to benefit about 50 PWDs. I want to use this opportunity to express gratitude to the Rt. Hon Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin for the crucial role he played in ensuring that this rare opportunity came to Nadowli-Kaleo District. We will continue to be grateful but ask for more”, Mary Haruna stated.
Ex-gratia for Assembly members
On ex-gratia payments to assembly members, the DCE recalled the Assembly’s commitment to settle the allowances for the 2015–2019 and 2019–2023 batches. Unfortunately, due to financial constraints, the Assembly has not been able to fulfill that promise within the originally stated timelines. To ensure progress, “a phased payment approach has now been adopted. In the first phase, twenty-one (21) Assembly Members have been selected to receive their allowances and subsequent payments will follow in similar batches when funds are available”, Madam Haruna said.
