Mr Mark Woyongo, Upper East Regional Minister, at the weekend assured the chiefs and people of Gbane and Digari communities in the Talensi-Nabdam District where small scale mining is taking place that their roads would be rehabilitated for easy access. The minister who visited the area to see the conditions under which the miners worked, observed that the road network in the area was bad and did not only pose a problem to the miners but to the populace, especially in times of emergencies where patients had to be rushed to health centres in Datuku or Tongo, a distance of about 20 kilometres. He said the mines had given employment to the youth and encouraged them to work hard to help their communities. Mr Woyongo said he would liaise with the Ministry of Trade to see how best they could be assisted financially to enable them to buy the needed machines to speed up their work. He advised the miners to fill the pits they create and also plant trees in those areas to rejuvenate the vegetation and improve the environment. The Chiefs of the two neigbouring communities, Gbane Nab Puboat Taaba and Digari Nab Bonro Bugri appealed to the Government through the Minister to help provide them with health facilities, portable drinking water and electricity. Mr John Tia, Member of Parliament for Talensi-Nabdam Constituency urged the youth to work in unity for the development of the area and asked them not to resort to violence but seek counsel from the elders whenever there is a misunderstanding. He assured that he was working in their interest and would see to it that they got assistance to improve their mining activities. The area has three mining centres named, Accra, Obuasi and Kejetia. Source: GNA