The Volta Region is putting itself in a competitive position to entice investors for quick growth.
To guarantee that it draws more international and local investors, the area is expanding its extensive road system and tourism attractions.
The Volta Regional Minister, Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa, stated that "we have to make ourselves competitive as a region since the investor has a choice in determining where to go."
After visiting the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) in Accra on Tuesday, he spoke with the Daily Graphic on development initiatives in the area. He said that the area was creating tourist attractions such the monkey sanctuary at Tafi Atome, the snake village at Liati Soba, the Ave Dakpa friendly crocodile pond, the Wli Waterfalls, and Mountain Afadja, among others, to support the growth of the economy of the region and the nation.
In addition, he stated that other important roads, including the Eastern Corridor Route, which he referred to as a "priority road," were being built in order to draw in investors. He claimed that the region has had its fair share of road building.
Having a road in Asikuma
To support his claim, he cited the Asikuma-Have and Have-Hohoe highways, the Ho-Sokode bypass, which were all in various stages of construction, and the dual carriage road being built from Ho to Sokode, which was anticipated to be finished by the end of the year.
He reiterated that additional roads, including the Ho-Denu road, which is now in poor condition, had been placed up for tender, and he expressed the hope that they would be finished soon.
He urged local airlines to begin using the Ho Airport, saying it had been finished and will be active very soon.
Social initiatives
Regarding the region's economic prospects, he stated that there are now roughly 40 One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiatives in the works, with five of them already up and running to support regional growth.
He continued by saying that the government's social intervention programme, Planting for Food and Jobs, was helping around 100,000 farmers in the fields of maize, rice, and vegetable cultivation.
He said that the Ministry of Agriculture's initiative for rice farmers, which was a sizable undertaking that would help farmers all across the region, was also advantageous to the area.
employment circumstance
Regarding the region's unemployment rate, he stated that it, like many others, would benefit from the government's social intervention programme called "YouStart," which attempts to provide funds and other resources to those who are unemployed. The regional minister cited the issue of young unemployment in the nation and hoped that the economy would expand so that the teeming youth might be employed in the private sector.
Interventions
All of the initiatives, according to Dr. Letsa, are intended to help the locals become self-sufficient so they can combat the widespread child trafficking problem in the area.
People might sell their kids for as little as GHc200 to work as labourers on the Volta Lake because of poverty and illiteracy.
He urged everyone to respect the election results in the political sphere because they were an internal matter for the New Patriotic Party, which went to the polls on Saturday to pick national executives.
In order to assist the President in guiding the nation out of its current economic difficulties, he said the party needed to emerge stronger to take on the work at hand.
Security
He said that the Volta Region was one of the most tranquil areas in the nation, which was advantageous for the region's potential as a tourist destination.
Although the region shared borders with Togo, he said that security professionals in the area were working around the clock to guarantee that everyone, including investors and visitors, would remain secure.
He urged Ghanaians to avoid viewing the matter as political when asked about his hopes from the Ghana/IMF discussions.