:Written By Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen No doubt, the Upper East Region of Ghana is a wonderful place to live in, especially with people from rich cultural practices and traditions, a region blessed with tremendous tourist sites all over. However, in the Upper East Region, one of the unfortunate canker or if you like, a defunct micro-finance i have seen hitting the region back to back apart from defunct Diamond Winners, God is Love, Power Ground and the almighty DKM micro-finance is the lack of zeal for ‘development’ from the elites and those who are supposed to know better, i mean those elites from the Upper East Region. No wonder in my last article in October 2021, one of my resource persons from the region strongly holds the views that the region main canker is caused by the elites,  “I see our number one problem as the elite who are educated, they are the problem of the Upper East Region, not the uneducated people” Alhaji Awal Ahmed Kariama, Executive Director at RISE-Ghana maintained Fortunately, Upper East Region has produced very notable individuals and personalities who should have turned things around. But sadly, the reality is that these notable, brilliant and worthy personalities mostly based outside the region, fear coming back home to help develop their own region where they are created as individual gifts and blessings from the most high. Another interesting point bedeviling development in our communities and region is the trending attitude of our chiefs allowing themselves used by politicians by way of offering them appointments and positions in their government. To me, i have strong view that chiefs should not engage in any government activity but must use their office to lobby for development for their people and region. Chiefs must be respected by politicians for the role they play towards development. It is the job of traditional rulers to mediate between the people and the government. It is also their role to fight for the rightful development for their people and region through their office such as Regional House of Chiefs. Is that really the case in the Upper East Region? i guess you already know the answer? There is a saying that: “One does not learn how to use the left hand in old age” Yes, that is a fact. A man who decides to divert his or her children’s minds away from their own region isn’t patriotic to his region. A man who does not care about the welfare of his people back home isn’t worthy to be called a native. A man who is given a good opportunity in a high office that is expected to bring development to his or her people and he or she misused the opportunity, there is no guarantee such a person will be able to bring development if given another opportunity. This is one of the predicaments bedeviling the people of the Upper East Region. In the Upper East Region, with some allocated time,13w one could easily count around the number of storey buildings within the region compared to other regions and majority of these top buildings belong to strangers who on their own are struggling to make the region a better place for everyone. However, mostly when you traveled to Accra or Kumasi, most modern buildings you see across are owned by someone from the Upper East region. Then, you asked yourself what could be the problem? Well, I think is our mentality. I was so surprised and shocked in 2021 when one of the region’s prominent personality informed me during one of our phone conversations that he hasn’t visited home for 33 years and this prominent figure has children and none of them had visited home as well and I mean their father’s compound. During that conversation he was able to informed me that her daughter is due for marriage anytime she wishes because she is of age. So, you see? How will such children have their region at heart, especially when their father is careless about the region? Meanwhile, the man’s only reason was that his siblings died all as a result of family issues. So, the parent had to travel down south for greener pastures with few of them left. So, in this case, it will definitely be a hard thing to learn how to use a left hand as an old man isn’t it? His 33 years old decision is today affecting the innocent people of his family, community, district, constituency and the region developmentally. He is the only one who was able to share that with me but i knew, there are many more with such a tough decision. No wonder, the people of the Upper East Region are not moved by the non-availability of the Passport Office Application Center for a whole region. Because, after all those who normally travel and understand the importance of a traveling passport are living outside the region. Isn’t that regrettable as a region? No wonder, they are not moved by the continuously failed promises by politicians. In December 2021, we were told by the Upper East Regional Minister Stephen Yakubu that the signing of a concessional loan facility of $20 million between the governments of Ghana and Saudi Arabia in 2019 for the completion of Bolgatanga Regional Hospital has been truncated and the people of Upper East are quiet and pleased with such a piece of disturbing news after years of battling on local radio stations across the region between communicators of NDC and NPP claiming who should take glory for the hospital renovation project. Meanwhile, when i reached out to the BONABOTO Regional chairman Dr. Esmond Agurgo Balfour to know their plans following the announcement made by the regional Minister about the cancellation of the initial Bolgatanga Regional Hospital concessional loan facility of $20 million between the Ghana government and Saudi Arabia, he confirmed that they have received the information as a group. He described the information as a piece of disappointing news.