Mrs Agnes Chigabatia, Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, has challenged the people of the three Northern regions to invest in their areas to help improve the living conditions of the people. She cautioned, "Not until this is done, the said regions would continue to be deprived in spite of the rich natural and human resources they abound". Mrs Chigabatia, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Builsa North, was speaking at a forum of Builsas in the Ashanti Region dubbed "The Way Forward for Builsas" in Kumasi on Sunday. She pointed out that the time has come for Northerners to take their destiny into their own hands and commit resources to tapping the development potentials in the three regions since "they could not rely only on government to develop the area". "We have gold, oil, cocoa and other natural resources just like other parts of the country and it is up to well-meaning Northerners to utilize these resources for the benefit of the people", the Deputy Regional Minister noted. She charged Northerners to eschew intra-religious and ethnic animosity and co-operate with each other for the sustenance of the people in Northern Ghana. Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah, Deputy Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, said government was committed to the development of Northern Ghana and advised them not to politicise development projects. He called on philanthropists and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to donate generously towards alleviating the plight of the flood victims in the northern part of the country.Source: GNA