President John Mahama has officially launched the Upper West Shea Park Resource Hub.
The hub, envisioned as an agro-industrial ecosystem, will bring together modern Shea processing facilities, quality control laboratories, training centers, solar-powered energy solutions, and export facilitation services.
In his address at the launch ceremony on Saturday at the Palace of His Royal Majesty the Wa Naa in Wa, President Mahama said the project represents a shift from raw extraction to value addition.
He disclosed that the hub will empower over 7,000 women in the Upper West Region and create thousands of jobs for young people.
“Women are not the beneficiaries of this project, they are the foundation of this project,” he noted.
He said the project will also anchor value chains for associated products including groundnuts, soya beans, sorghum, cotton, and honey.
The President confirmed that 3,000 wellington boots and 3,200 gloves have already been distributed to Shea pickers. He said the protective gear is meant to shield women from snake and scorpion bites during nut picking.
On financing, President Mahama said the government is moving forward with a Women’s Bank, led by the Vice President.
He stated that the bank is close to presenting its structure and objectives to cabinet and will target women working in the Shea industry across the northern regions.
He noted that the bank will offer seasonal credit to women during the Shea picking season, giving them the means to access deeper parts of the bush for harvesting.
“They will be given money so that as cooperatives they can hire tricycles to take them further into the bush,” he said.
He stated that the tricycles will also bring the women back with their harvest, removing the need to carry heavy loads on their heads.
The Shea Park is part of a wider government effort to process raw materials locally before export.
President Mahama stated that the Gold Board has signed an agreement with Gold Coast Refineries to process one ton of gold every week, and that Ghana Manganese Company is taking steps to process manganese ore domestically.
“We can pick the nuts, we can process the nuts and we can make the finished products,” President Mahama added.
He also said the hub is aligned with the government’s 24-hour economy initiative.
He stated that the facility will operate across shifts in processing, logistics, quality control, packaging, and distribution, creating round-the-clock employment opportunities.
The project will also address youth migration from the northern regions.
“By creating decent jobs here at home we’re tackling one of the root causes of migration and economic dislocation in the northern part of Ghana,” he noted .
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
