The Government will soon establish the Blue Economy Commission to regulate and maximize the benefits from the nation’s marine and freshwater resources.
That, President John Dramani Mahama said, would go a long way to provide thousands of jobs, particularly for the nation’s youth. President Mahama made this known on Wednesday during his “Thank You Tour” in Sekondi at a grand durbar of the chiefs and people of the Western Region.
The nationwide tour, which began in Ho, the Volta Regional Capital, is to enable the President to express his sincere appreciation to the people of Ghana for the overwhelming support and trust reposed in him at the 2024 elections. With regards to mining, President Mahama said the Government would take bold steps to replace the highly partisan and ineffective community mining scheme and replace it with a more effective artisanal small-scale mining cooperative.
The Government would soon establish the Ghana Gold Board to regulate the small-scale mining sector and implement the Tree for Life Afforestation Policy, which would turn degraded lands into economic hubs for cocoa plantations, farm and rubber cultivation, he said. It would also revamp and expand the cocoa industry in the Western Region and support processing companies like WAMCO and PLOT Enterprise under the 24-hour economic policy.
He said since assuming office, the government had taken urgent steps to revive oil and gas exploration and production, which had been on decline over the last eight years. “Our team has held discussions with our partners in the oil and gas industry, and you will soon witness a revival of the industry here in the Western Region,” he stated.
President Mahama said through the big-push infrastructural policy, his administration would complete abandoned projects or delayed ones in the region, which include the Takoradi Market Circle project, where he visited in the afternoon prior to attending the durbar. “And I had a meeting with the contractors. We are meeting together with the Minister of Finance to plot a payment scheme so that the contractors can return to site and continue with the market project.”
President Mahama said the Western Region was the heartbeat of Ghana’s progress, adding; “Let us, therefore, rise together and build a future that is prosperous, just, fair, and filled with opportunities for all.” Nana Kobina Nketiah V, the Omanhene of the Essikado Traditional Area and Acting President of the Western Regional House of Chiefs, welcomed the establishment of Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL) by the President.
“The idea of ORAL is so laudable in Africa. ORAL should be a guiding spirit in our public service existence. Our current Constitution speaks loudly of probity, accountability, and transparency. And that is why we are pleased with ORAL. Any critique of such a body is only to enhance it and make it worthy of the acronym,” he said. He appealed to President Mahama to ensure that the Western Region got its fair share of the national cake and cautioned him to be “mindful of praise singers.”
Source: GNA
