President John Dramani Mahama has said his government would combine individual-level poverty-alleviation programmes with structural reforms that fully leverage northern Ghana’s comparative advantage to bridge the development gap between the northern and southern Ghana.
He noted that the development gap between the north and the south was inimical to the overall development of the country and needed to be addressed with urgency.
Addressing the chiefs and people of the Upper East Region on his ‘Thank You’ visit to the region following his victory at the polls in December 2024, President John Mahama said the region in particular and northern Ghana in general had what it takes to compete favourably.
“The north has vast arable lands, favorable conditions for agriculture, and an emerging agribusiness ecosystem. The north holds immense potential to become food security and agro-industrial hub for Ghana and the West African sub-region.
“By prioritising targeted investments in irrigation, agro-processing, and rural infrastructure while ensuring accountability in the use of public funds, we’ll create sustainable economic opportunities that transform livelihoods and reverse decades of marginalization,” he said.
According to President Mahama, it was necessary to unlock Ghana’s full economic potential by ensuring that every region contributed to national development at its fullest capacity.
In pursuit of these objective, President Mahama revealed that he had instructed the Minister of Finance to source funding to complete all stalled projects in the Upper East Region.
They include stalled projects in the areas of agriculture, irrigation, education, and roads.
“I have asked the Finance Minister to commence the rescoping of the Pwalugu multipurpose dam project and the revaluation of its various phases for inclusion in our Big Push Infrastructure Financing programme,” he said to loud applause from the gathering.
In the area of roads, President Mahama said the completion of the Bolgatanga-Bawku road, resurfacing of the Tamale-Bolgatanga-Paga road, “which is currently in a very poor condition”, were top on the agenda.
Other priority roads would be Bolgatanga-Wa and the Navrongo-Sandema-Fumbisi-Daboya, he disclosed.
Additionally, President Mahama said the management of the Ghana Airport Company had been tasked to commence sourcing funds for the construction of the Bolgatanga airport on a public-private partnership agreement to open up the region to the rest of the country.
To enable all-year farming and unlock the agricultural potential of the region, President Mahama said the Tamne and the Nasia-Nabogo irrigation projects would be revived.
Other areas of focus would be the completion of the Navrongo War Memorial Hospital; and commencement and completion of phase three of the Upper East Regional Hospital to enhance healthcare provision for the people. In the area of education, President Mahama said with the uncapping of the Ghana Education Trust Fund, more funds would be made available to complete abandoned infrastructure projects in the region with special focus on eliminating schools under trees and provision of furniture for schools which do not have it.
“We want to ensure that every child in this region and beyond has access to quality education in a conducive learning environment,” he stated.
FROM JULIUS YAO PETETSI, BOLGATANGA
