SADA Ghana

The Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) was established by Act 805, 2010 as an independent and autonomous statutory corporation to "provide a framework for the comprehensive and long-term development of the Northern Savannah Ecological Zone". SADA has its constitutional foundations in Article 36 (2) (d) of the Fourth Republican Consti... tution, which states that "the state is enjoined in the directive principles of state policy to take the necessary steps to establish a sound and healthy economy through the undertaking of even and balanced development of all regions and improvement of conditions of life in the rural areas. Furthermore, imbalances in the development between the rural and urban areas should be redressed to ensure balanced regional development". The relative underdevelopment of the Northern Savannah Ecological Zone (NSEZ) compared to the rest of the country has its roots in history and to some extent geography. In terms of history, the colonial authorities saw no immediate interest in investing in the place, failing to build roads, schools, health facilities and markets. Instead, they extracted its most healthy labour force and exported them to cocoa plantations, to the mines and to clean the streets in the emerging cities and towns in the South. This practice of labour extraction followed on centuries of human capture and exports to the coast and across the Sahara by slave traders and raiders penetrating the Savannah from both ends. Geography plays a part in the form of severe vulnerabilities associated with weather swings, intense heat, creeping desertification and natural disasters. In spite of efforts by successive governments to address these imbalances, the NSEZ collectively still contributes the largest share of national poverty (see http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/glss6_presentation.html ); the worst performance in terms of education outcomes as well as maternal and child health. The generally poor state of infrastructure means that the vast agricultural and other productive ...Read More