Togbega Tepre Hodo IV, Fiaga of Anfoega and President of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs, has called for cooperation between the chiefs and political leadership in the region to propel development.
He said it was about time the political leaders put their partisanship aside and focused on the development of the Volta Region.
“Over the years there has not been any proper coordination for a development plan for the region. I think this forum is critical for the resuscitation of whatever plan we have for the region,” he said.
Togbega Hodo said this at the maiden edition of the Volta Stakeholders Conference at Ho, under the auspices of the Members of Parliament (MPs) Caucus of the Volta Region.
The conference, which was also attended by chiefs and business leaders, was on the theme: “Harnessing the Resources of the Volta Region”.
Togbega Hodo expressed concern over the non-consultation of chiefs when it came to development projects in their traditional areas, and said the situation was not the best.
He said the chiefs were the contact point in every traditional area and it was only fair and right to be the first point of call in any project.
He called for the need to nominate people with the right expertise into the assemblies to be able to understand the issues of budget and expenditure among other things to fast-track development.
Mr Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, the Chairman of the Volta MPs Caucus, touched on some challenges facing the region such as poor roads and youth unemployment, which the people were putting pressure on the MPs to help resolve.
He cited the current state of the trunk road linking Accra to Ho as an example, particularly after the Adomi Bridge, which is in a bad shape.
“We all drove on this road to this conference, or may drive on it, on our way back to Accra. Same can be said about the almighty Eastern Corridor Road, which has become an albatross around our necks as politicians from the Volta Region,” he said.
Mr Bedzrah said youth unemployment had become a regional security threat, which called for dialogue between the duty bearers and the people to find solutions to.
He said the Ho Airport not being operational after five years of its construction was unacceptable, since that alone could provide hundreds of jobs in the aviation industry value chain for the youth.
Mr Bedzrah said the Ho Teaching Hospital existed only in name without the requisite equipment and resources for full operationalization to achieve the desired goals, adding that the Keta Port project had either been forgotten or totally abandoned.
He said the tourism potentials of the Volta Region remained largely untapped, notwithstanding the great prospects of that industry to the wellbeing of the area.
Mr Bedzrah said arable lands and large water bodies for agriculture existed in the region but were largely underutilized, yet food prices continued to rise on daily basis.
The challenges facing the region could be tackled if the political leadership grabbed the bull by its horns through effective and sustained collaborative efforts with all stakeholders, he said.
Source: GNA