President Evans Atta Mills has entreated all Ghanaians to participate fully in the Town Hall Meetings irrespective of their political affiliations or ethnic backgrounds. He said the concept is to give ordinary people the opportunity to interact with government officials to find out how their resources are being used for the development of their communities and also hold them accountable. Mr. Mahama Ayariga, Presidential Spokesperson, who said these at the first ever Town Hall Meeting, at the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) hall in Tamale on Wednesday, indicated that “The mandate to develop your town is yours and yours alone and you should not allow anybody to take it away from you”. The forum was well attended by government officials, chiefs and the ordinary people, who asked pertinent questions concerning education, health, agriculture and social issues affecting the development of their locality. Mr. Ayariga said by initiating Town Hall Meetings, government is restoring power to the people to determine their own development agenda and hoped such forums would continuously provide the platform for people to interact with their Chief Executives. He stressed the need for such forums to be a continuous process of interacting with the local people before the implementation of projects. Mr. Stephen Sumani Nayina, Northern Regional Minister, expressed concern about the negative image the region has been associated with over the years and said conditions have now improved and peace restored. He said the region is the most deprived in the country with development indices indicating that it ranks lowest in literacy and health care with women dying during child birth. Mr. Nayina emphasized the region is endowed with vast agricultural land and mineral deposits, which if exploited could help transform the area. According to hi m, the major problem the region faces is the poor road network, noting that apart from the Yendi road which is consciously tarred, the Savelugu and Walewale roads were tarred by accident since they are part of an international road network. Source: GNA