‘Consider Ho for Metropolitan status’

The Ho Municipal Chief Executive, Divine Bosson, has observed that the city should be considered for elevation to a Metropolitan status since the population of the Volta Regional capital has exceeded the threshold for Metropolitan consideration.

He said about 100,000 of its residents were not counted during the 2021 Housing and Population Census which placed the population at 197,500 adding, the count missed a sizable chunk of residents.

“About 100,000 of our population were not counted which included workers, growing student community that were counted elsewhere yet spent critical time in the city, the number cannot be ignored in development planning because the student population were on vacation during the census and were not counted yet they come back and use everything we have,” Mr Bosson alluded.

He made the observation when he met the leadership of the Volta and Oti Chapters of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), who had called on him.

According to him, the municipality was ripe for the metropolitan status because it had moved from a municipality status and was hopeful the president would grant the city a metropolitan status in his next consideration to elevate cities, adding that “the municipality’s growth and development shows in the fast-evolving physical landscape the Assembly was working to expand its structures to par”.

“Encouraging business investment is part of the Assembly’s strategies towards growth and development and will seek to support and assist enhancement of potential growth areas, which includes real estate, agriculture, and tourism sectors and the municipality will this year hold the maiden Ho Expo.

“It will focus on promoting tourism, real estate, investment, expose potentials to help stimulate business and development collaboration among private sector and other stakeholders because real estate remained top of investment drive, especially with the academic community stimulating focus on urban accommodation,” Mr Bosson asserted.

He hinted on plans to revisit a 200-unit Spanish Housing Project for the municipality which was aborted in 2011 and revealed that internal revenue was crucial to the city’s ambitions since the Assembly had begun the crusade on clogged revenue streams including property rates, 90 per cent of which had never been paid.

Emmanuel Agbaxode, Chairman of the GJA, disclosed that the media sought to strengthen growth and development collaboration with various stakeholders and assured the Assembly of continuous support and assistance.