A consistent advocacy movement by the Sunyani Municipal ‘Adolescent Parliament’ on the long-abandoned Bono Regional Library project, has yielded a positive response, with the government agreeing to release funding through the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND), for the resumption of work and completion.
The 23-member Adolescent ‘Parliament’ established in 2024 and presided over by Master Daniel Frimpong, the ‘Speaker,’ has consistently advocated the need for the completion of the library project initiated in 2003, by Joseph Henry Mensah, the late former Member of Parliament (MP) for Sunyani East.
Speaking a session of the ‘Parliament’ in Sunyani, Mr Vincent Antwi Agyei, the Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive, said through the collective efforts of Mr Joseph Addae Akwaboa, the Bono Regional Minister and Mr Seid Mubarak, the current MP for Sunyani East, the GETFUND had captured and would soon release funds for the completion of the library project.
The Global Media Foundation (GloMeF), a media advocacy non-governmental organisation inaugurated the ‘Parliament’ under the Resilient City for Adolescent (RCA) project it was implementing within the municipality.
It identifies and helps in tackling the pressing developmental needs of young people and accordingly elected 19 parliamentarians from the localities in the Municipality.
They lead the adolescent movement and give them a voice in the decision process, as part of the implementation of the RCA project, expected to directly benefit 1,500 and indirectly reach out to 3,000 vulnerable boys and girls.
Mr Agyei said it was unfortunate that the previous administration failed to complete the project, though it remained one of the pressing needs of the people, saying “we have repackaged the project under the reset agenda and construction work will resume soon”.
He also called on the ‘parliament’ to frontline and help improve proper sanitation in the municipality, saying sustainable and proper waste management and sanitation required collective responsibility from all.
Mr Raphael Godlove Ahenu, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the GloMeF, later told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the establishment of the ‘Parliament’ was a testament to the unwavering commitment to nurture the next generation of leaders.
He expressed appreciation to the Swiss Bortnar Fondation for funding the implementation of the RCA project, under its Resilient City for Adolescent Initiative, saying the three-year project was making a significant impact on the lives of adolescents in the Municipality.