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Tag: Regional Minister

  • Pumps needed to resolve Volta Region water shortage to cost govt $52m – Regional Minister

    Pumps needed to resolve Volta Region water shortage to cost govt $52m – Regional Minister

    The Volta Regional Minister, James Gunu, has announced that expanding Ho’s water supply infrastructure is projected to cost approximately $52 million, based on estimates from the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL).

    During an interview on PM Express on JoyNews, Mr. Gunu underlined the necessity of implementing a long-term solution to address the city’s water shortages. 

    He acknowledged the hefty price tag but stressed that the expansion must be tailored to support Ho’s rapidly increasing population.

    “In actual fact from the report that I stormed it is about 52 million dollars. That is a report from the Ghana Water Company but I told them we need to sit down and evaluate this properly because the expansion should be able to take care of the growing populace because we don’t want to do something whereby in the next 10 or 20 years we will face the same challenge.

    “In 1992/1993, when this facility was constructed, Ho had a population of about 5,000 but today, it is over 250,000, and the demand is over 30,000 meters. If we are planning for the future, we must consider a population of over 500,000,” he said.

    He highlighted that Ho’s growing population, fueled by an increase in universities, educational institutions, and other developments, underscores the need for a sustainable water supply system.

    Acknowledging the high cost, Mr. Gunu expressed hope that international funding would be secured to support the expansion. 

    He stressed the importance of meticulous planning to prevent future water shortages and to fulfill the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 6, which aims for universal access to clean water and sanitation.

    “It is very expensive but we hope that other donor partners will come in, and let’s see whether we can get some grants to enable the Ghana Water Company to expand this facility so that we can have a sustainable supply of water to serve the growing population of Ho and its environs.

    The technical experts in charge must help the government expand this facility so we can ensure a sustainable water supply for Ho and its surrounding areas,” he added.

    In January, there were multiple instances of system failures, with the latest one stretching over a week. What began as sporadic pump malfunctions late last year has now escalated to a full shutdown.

    The sole working pump at the intake station of the Ghana Water Company Limited’s Kpeve headworks in the South Dayi District has broken down beyond repair.

    This pump is one of three that have become outdated after more than 30 years of service. At present, there are no functional pumps available at the intake station to draw water from the Volta River, which is then processed at the Kpeve plant and distributed to over 100,000 residents in the affected areas.

  • Western Region gets 4 ports – Regional Minister

    The Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah has heaped praises on President Akufo-Addo for the massive development of port infrastructure in his region.

    According to the Regional Minister, the construction of the ports is opening the region up to several economic opportunities and creating more job opportunities for the teeming youth of the region.

    “Under President Akufo-Addo, we have been able to construct 4 ports in the Western Region. This is very unprecedented. You all know that under Dr Kwame Nkrumah, he did for us the Sekondi Naval Base and you know the British in 1928 did the Takoradi Port. Under President Akufo-Addo we have done another port inside the Takoradi Harbor which is the Atlantic Port Service with a private sector Ibistek.

    “It is like the MPS we have in Tema. We also have another port which is a fishing port in Dixcove and another one in Axim and we are now developing what we call the fuel operating base like the naval base at Ezinlibo close to our oil fields,” he said.

    He said this when he took his turn at the State of Region Report, a media engagement platform put together by the Ministry of Information to regularly update the media on developments in their regions on Wednesday, November 16, 2022.

    Touching on related infrastructure projects, the Minister stated that work on the railways, Takoradi market, the Paa Grant road interchange, the Agenda 111 among other state interventions were on course to restore hope to the people of the region.

    On roads, he said 252.37 kilometres of roads have been completed in the region. He said the road projects spanning urban, feeder roads and highways include the emergency rehabilitation of the Ahwetieso to Tarkwa road, Bogoso Junction and Assembly Office in Tarkwa, regravelling of Sankor to Cape Three Points road, reconstruction of Tarkwa to Darmang road and the construction of Agona Nkwanta to Tarkwa trunk road.

    He said the construction of the roads coupled with the numerous developmental projects in the region will help boost socio-economic activities, particularly when the region plays a critical role in the country’s development.

  • Thirty more factories under 1D1F coming up in Ashanti – Regional Minister

    About 30 more factories are at various stages of completion under the One District One Factory (1D1F) initiative in the Ashanti Region, Mr. Simon Osei-Mensah, the Regional Minister, has disclosed.

    The Minister, who was speaking at the 23rd Regional Annual General Meeting of the Ashanti, Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Regional Branch of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) in Kumasi, said the region was a beneficiary of 21 out of the 125 factories, already in operation under the initiative.

    The meeting, which was on the theme: “Investing in Ghanaian Industries to Leverage Opportunities in the Single African Market,” was held to take stock of the activities of the Association and to chart the way forward by addressing pertinent issues affecting the growth of industries.

    It was attended by representatives of AGI from the four regions and other relevant industry players.

    Mr Osei-Mensah said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government in its quest to change the nature of the economy from taxation to production, launched the 1D 1F initiate in 2017 to promote the manufacturing and service sectors through several policy initiatives.

    He said through the GhanaCARES ‘Obatanpa’ Programme, the Government supported many manufacturing and pharmaceutical industries to survive the COVID-19 impact.

    “One of the objectives of the GhanaCARES ‘Obatanpa’ Programme is to support the private sector particularly agribusiness, manufacturing, ICT and digitalisation,” he stated.

    The Minister urged the Association to strengthen and deepen collaboration with the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) and take advantage of the Authority’s work to diversify its export base.

    The location of the Secretariat of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in Ghana, according to the Minister, offered a perfect opportunity for the AGI to make deliberate attempt to create export-oriented companies to enhance the country’s industrialisation agenda.

    He said the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council had always collaborated with the private sector and that together with the AGI, his outfit was implementing projects that would grow the economy to promote businesses in the Ashanti region.

    Mr Akwasi Nyamekye, Regional AGI Chairperson for Ashanti, Ahafo, Bono and Bono East, called on the Government to take a second look at the current ECOWAS protocols on trade, saying in-spite of the protocols there was no free movement of goods within the sub-region.

    He said the association and its members had the capacity to support all government programmes that fell within their domain.

    Source:gna