President John Dramani Mahama has announced that his government is fast-tracking the development of Ghana’s six newly created regions to enable them to catch up with older, more established regions.
According to President Mahama, development projects are being deliberately skewed in favour of the new regions because they currently lack many of the basic amenities available in the older regions.
He made the announcement during a courtesy call on the Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs.
“We are fast-tracking the development of the six newly created regions. And so, when it comes to development projects, we skew the projects in favour of the new regions so that they can catch up with the older, more established regions,” he said.
President Mahama said several roads in the Ahafo Region had been captured under the government’s “Big Push” infrastructure programme, with additional roads expected to be included in Phase Two.
He also assured the traditional authorities that Ahafo would receive its fair share of national development resources.
“I can assure you that in sharing the national cake, we’ll make sure Ahafo gets its fair share,” he said.
$2bn annual investment for job creation
President Mahama further disclosed that government intends to make about $2 billion available annually for investment in nine critical sectors of the economy with the capacity to create jobs rapidly.
He said the initiative would be driven largely by the private sector as government seeks to move beyond macroeconomic stabilisation towards job creation.
“We now want to move from just a stabilised macroeconomic environment to jobs because that’s the most important thing to us,” President Mahama said.
He noted that the initiative would target opportunities for young people entering the labour market each year.
Push for local production
The President also highlighted agriculture as a key area for job creation and import substitution, particularly oil palm and poultry production.
He said Ghana had the land and capacity to produce oil palm locally and reduce its dependence on imported vegetable cooking oil.
President Mahama urged traditional authorities to participate directly in the initiative by releasing suitable land for oil palm projects and investing in plantations themselves.
“You don’t only release the land for people to come and do. You must also take part, own oil palm plantations. It will provide income for you, and it will also help the national economy to move forward,” he said.
He also said government was working to expand domestic poultry production, noting that Ghana spends almost $500 million annually on imported chicken, according to his remarks.
Tertiary institution for Ahafo
On education, President Mahama reaffirmed the government’s commitment to establishing a tertiary institution in the Ahafo Region.
He said the project was “on track” and assured the chiefs that a tertiary educational institution would be delivered before the end of his term.
On healthcare, he reiterated the government’s commitment to providing a first-class regional hospital in each of the six newly created regions.
He said funding had already been provided for three regional hospitals, with procurement completed and contractors moving to site, while the next three would be covered in the following year’s budget.
Greater role for traditional rulers
President Mahama also called for stronger participation by traditional rulers in local governance.
He said the Constitutional Review Implementation Committee was examining proposed amendments that could increase the role of chiefs in Ghana’s decentralised local government system.
“It’s my expectation that chiefs and traditional rulers would have a more active participation in our district assemblies than they have had in the past,” he said.
He also urged traditional authorities to work closely with District Chief Executives to ensure that resources allocated to district assemblies were properly utilised.
President Mahama said government’s decision to direct 80% of the District Assemblies Common Fund directly to districts had improved the financing of the assemblies.
24-hour markets
The President further announced that government was implementing its plan to establish one 24-hour market in each district, covering all 261 districts.
He said government would subsequently consider constructing modern markets in other economically viable communities because markets provide outlets for farmers and stimulate economic activity.
President Mahama also commended Newmont for its corporate social responsibility projects in Ahafo, including its contribution to roads and the Regional House of Chiefs building.
He urged mining companies and other corporate citizens to ensure that communities in which they operate benefit from their activities.
