The Salaga Cassava Processing Factory in the East Gonja District has begun full operation with its products currently being sold at the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions. The processed products comprise cassava dough, gari, chips, floor and starch and are being sold at affordable prices to help reduce poverty in the three northern regions. Mr Alhassan Mumuni, East Gonja District Chief Executive (DCE), announced this on Tuesday during the first ordinary sitting of the Assembly for 2010 in Salaga. The meeting was aimed at deliberating on the district's development agenda. Mr Mumuni said government was determined to reduce poverty to improve people's living conditions, adding that the establishment of the Salaga Cassava Processing Factory was part of measures to fulfill the "Better Ghana Agenda". He gave the assurance that government would continue to implement programmes and projects that would help to develop communities for people to feel that their taxes were not going waste. Mr Mumuni said the Assembly was also striving hard to help improve education in the district and had therefore supported the district directorate of education to organize mock exams for Junior High School students. He said government, under its Free School Uniforms and Exercise Books policy, has made available 1,047 school uniforms and 130,000 exercise books. He announced that government had also given approval for the construction of a district hospital in Salaga and that the people of Gonjaland would forever be grateful to government. Mr Mumuni appealed to the people to support the construction of the hospital to improve healthcare delivery in the area. On development projects, the DCE said two projects under the District Wide Assistance Projects (DWAP) at Gari-Shani, had been completed while the construction of a police headquarters at Abromasi was also on course. He said a number of projects under the Community-Based Rural Development Projects (CBRDP) were on schedule and added that there was a project on community initiative for food security. He said the district had given some credit support including the supply of seed, weedicides, tractor services and fertilizer to 337 youths to the tune of GH¢118,781.00 to cultivate some 1,006 acres of rice as means of poverty reduction. Mr Ibrahim Dey, Member of Parliament (MP) for Salaga, called for a collaborative effort to help improve education in the district by banning all night activities that would engage school children. He appealed to government to try and help to improve the Gonjaland roads, especially the Salaga-Makango-Tamale road. The assembly members appealed for the provision of motorbikes to help facilitate their work in the district. Source: GNA