They said water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), as well as health facilities were in short supply within their jurisdictions, impacting on access to quality health care and education. 

The assemblies included the Tamale Metropolitan, Savelugu, Yendi and West Gonja Municipalities and Tolon District.

These issues were raised during a consultative forum to collate inputs into the 2023 National Budget and Economic Policy, organised in Tamale by SEND-Ghana, a non-governmental organisation.

It forms part of the organisation’s Monitoring for Financial Savings project being implemented in partnership with Integrity Action.

The forum brought together civil society organisations, persons with disability and assembly members, who identified health, education and sanitation infrastructure as some critical needs.

Mr Mohammed Da-ud Ansuar, the Chairman of Social Service Sub-Committee, Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, said there were inadequate classroom blocks and furniture leading to overcrowding in the schools.

The metropolis also suffered from inadequate supply of potable water.

He, therefore, called on the Ministry of Finance to allocate enough resources in the 2023 Budget for the construction of more classroom blocks, provision of furniture, and water pumping sites to address the challenges.

?Mr Mohammed Muhaideen, the West Gonja Municipal Health Promotion, mentioned the lack of a public hospital and potable water as the major needs of the area.

Mr Ahmed Zakaria, Tolon District Disease Control Officer, mentioned the lack of potable water and inadequate health facilities as some of their challenges.

Mr Mohammed Mumuni, the Northern Regional Programmes Manager of SEND-Ghana, said the huge infrastructure deficit at the assemblies was very clear, which needed to be addressed.

?He observed that the government’s capital expenditure was heavily funded by development partners and called for changes in that strategy, in terms of revenue generation and expenditure, to address the infrastructure gap.

?He said the issues raised would be harmonised and submitted to the Ministry of Finance to be considered in next year’s budget, which would be presented to Parliament in November.