The Zongo Development Fund is currently assessing over 300 business plans from trainees for startup grants and entrepreneurship support to enable them to start their own businesses, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has said.

According to the minister, these plans were received from over 1,200 Zongo youth trained in various vocational skills and entrepreneurship across the country.

He said the Fund is rolling out a plan to train 3,000 Zongo youth in various vocational skills and support 1,000 of them with start-up grants, and train 1,000 Zongo poultry out-growers out of whom 500 will be supported with startup grants.

 Mr Ofori-Atta said these during his 2022 budget presentation in Parliament on Wednesday, 17 November 2021.

Listing the government’s achievements under the Zongo Development Fund Programme, the minister said: “Mr Speaker, under the Zongo Development Fund, 34 six-unit basic educational classroom blocks have been completed, while 21 are at various stages of completion.”

He noted that over 3,050 dual desks were supplied to basic schools in Zongo communities across the country and an additional supply of 19,550 pieces of classroom furniture is expected to be carried out by the end of this year.

The Fund he noted is also conducting feasibility studies for the development of Model Senior High Schools in Zongo communities across the country.

He further said a total of 252 household toilets were constructed in partnership with the Ga Mashie Development Agency.

The Fund also completed eight institutional toilet facilities, while works on additional 10 institutional toilet facilities are at advanced stages of completion.

Under the Fund, Mr Ofori-Atta added that the government completed the construction of 58 mechanised community water systems in 58 communities across the country.

“Works on an additional 59 mechanised community water systems are still ongoing in 59 communities, with a substantial proportion of this number at advanced stages of completion,” he stated.

He said works are ongoing on 11 recreational parks in Aboabo, Agogo, Bantama, Chiraa, Dodowa, Dunkwa-on-Offin, Essikado, Larabanga, Manhyia, Old Tafo and Sowutuom. “These ongoing works are expected to be completed before the end of 2021.”

The Fund, he further, said supplied and installed 3,430 streetlight units in selected Zongo communities across the country.

“This intervention is expected to increase visibility in the communities at night and improve public safety and security for all inhabitants and motorists,” he explained.

Since its establishment, the finance minister disclosed the Fund has provided tuition support grants to 239 brilliant but needy Zongo students in tertiary institutions.

“The Fund has also provided over 60,000 textbooks on the English language, Arabic language, Mathematics and Science to the Islamic Education Unit to stock libraries of selected Zongo schools,” he added.

He assured parliament that in 2022, all ongoing projects under the Zongo Infrastructure Development Programme will be continued.

The Fund he said will also continue to implement the activities outlined in the social and economic development programme which focuses on skills training and entrepreneurship support, provision of social protection for the poor, community mobilisation and public sensitisation programmes.