President Mahama Receives Bono East Chiefs, Outlines Development Plans
Chiefs of the Bono East region paid a courtesy call on President John Dramani Mahama at the Presidency on Thursday, and left with a string of development commitments for their region.
President Mahama confirmed that a cashew processing factory promised to the region during the campaign is on course.
He said when completed, the factory will have the capacity to process 50,000 tonnes of cashew annually and create employment opportunities for young people in the area.
On markets, the President said Techiman has been selected to benefit from both a modern 24-hour market and an additional ultra-modern market under the government’s 24-hour economy initiative. He noted that six major markets are being built across the country in strategic commercial centres, and Techiman is among them, a recognition of the city’s standing as one of Ghana’s biggest trading hubs.
“The Techiman Market remains one of the biggest trading centres in the country, attracting traders from across Ghana and neighbouring countries,” he said.
President Mahama told the chiefs that eight roads in the region have been captured under Phase One of the Big Push infrastructure programme, including the Techiman-Wenchi road, the Techiman-Sunyani road, the Jema Township roads, the Jema-Ampoma-Anyima road, the Amoma-Agyina road, the Bodom-Busunya road, the Bonomanso-Kranka road and the Tanoboase road.
He said the Atebubu-Kwame Danso-Kadjebi road has been earmarked for Phase Two next year, and that government was going to construct the Techiman Outer Ring Road to ease congestion within the municipality.
The President said Atebubu is also among the areas earmarked for a Farmer Service Centre to support agricultural productivity and agribusiness development.
On health, President Mahama said Bono East is among three new regions whose regional hospitals will begin construction next year.
He added that in the meantime, the region is among those receiving sports stadiums while the first batch of regional hospitals is being built elsewhere.
In education, the President said the government is engaging the World Bank on a programme to upgrade 30 Category B senior high schools to Category A and another 30 Category C schools to Category B.
“I am hopeful that schools in the Bono East Region will benefit from this initiative,” he said.
The President also updated the chiefs on the economy, saying inflation has come down to 3.4 percent, the cedi has stabilised, and interest rates have dropped sharply from around 32 percent to between 12 and 13 percent.
“This is bringing relief to businesses, workers and ordinary Ghanaians,” he said, adding that the IMF review team commended Ghana’s progress after all required targets were met.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
