President John Evans Atta Mills has observed that the high level of poverty in the Northern Region can be reduced if stakeholders in the area renew their commitment and work in unity to attract investments. He said the region abounds in many resources and there is the need for collaboration and synergy among the various districts to exploit those resources which will lead to job creation and development. The President was reported to have made this observation in a meeting with some District Chief Executive Tamale, behind closed doors. The rest of the DCEs will meet with the President on Tuesday visit to the region. The President arrived in the Northern, Regional capital earlier yesterday tumultuous welcome by the residents. Briefing journalists about the meeting, Mr Koku Anyidoho, Director of Communications at the Presidency, said the President expressed concern about the of development of the region and reiterated his commitment to supporting initiative towards improving the welfare of the people in the region. According to the Communication Director, the President took the opportunity to brief the DCEs on the decisions of Cabinet at the last week's Cabinet retreat on job creation, and asked them to find ways of implementing them towards achieving the ''Better Ghana agenda” of the government. The President pledged the full support of the government in the implementation of the development initiatives, and encouraged them to be proactive in addressing challenges facing the region. The president is expected to meet with the Regional Security chiefs today to discuss the security situation in the region with the view to enhancing the operations of the security agencies. Earlier, the President commissioned a multi-purpose, Central Administration Block for the University for Development Studies (UDS) in Tamale. The block, which serves as offices and conference hall, was funded by the GETFund at the cost of GH¢7 million. Prof. Mills reiterated his government's commitment to supporting the UDS to realize the objectives for which it was established. He explained that education is the bedrock of development and the government would resource the university to deliver quality and affordable education to the future leaders of the area. President Mills urged authorities of the University to partner with the authorities of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) to enable it to achieve its goals saying there is no way SADA will succeed without the full support of the university. "As a centre of excellence, UDS ought to make its rich human resources and facilities available to the SADA for its smooth implementation," the President said. The acting Vice-Chancellor of UDS, Prof. Kwaku Sagri Nokoe, said from its humble beginnings with only 39 students in 1993, the university now has 1,200 students with eight faculties. He said that the UDS Mathematics Faculty has the highest student population pursuing science in any university in the country, and stressed the strategic importance of the university. Prof. Nokoe further stressed that the university plays a key role in finding solution to community problems through the Third Trimester Field Practical Program (TTFPP) during which students were made to stay in the communities to identify problems and help from solution to them. The acting Vice-Chancellor said though the UDS has made some progress, it still faces a lot of challenges. These challenges, he said, have enabled it to develop unique ways of addressing development problems, which have earned the UDS the recognition as the university for the future. Prof. Nokoe, however, appealed to the government for support in addressing accommodation challenges for teaching and non-teaching staff. Source: Ghanaian Times/Ghana