The Oti Regional Minister, Mr. Joshua G. Makubu, has beckoned steel companies to consider setting up their plants in the region, because large quantities of iron ore deposits had been discovered there.
According to Mr. Makubu, iron ore was the key to an industrialised Ghana, hence, the need for companies to take advantage of the discovery and set up their plants in the region.
“I want to advice people in Accra to start looking for land in the Oti Region, because what is going to take Ghana from our current state to a very industrialised nation has been found in the Oti Region, and that is the iron ore… We have discovered iron in greater quantity in the Oti Region,” the Regional Minister said.
He was speaking at the ‘State of the Region Report’, an event put together by the Ministry of Information for regional ministers to talk about developments, ongoing projects, and opportunities that abound in their various areas.
Mr. Makubu took time to mention some of the areas where the mineral discovery had been made. He made mention of Akpafo Todzi, Akpafo Mempasem, and Benua in the Guan District; Kwamekrom, Bowiri Amanfrom in the Biakoye District and many other places.
He noted that currently, the estimation of the mineral resource was being undertaken to get the actual tonnage available, before mining could begin.
He admitted that some private investors were already pushing resources into it, but like Oliver Twist, the Minister asked more to join.
“So if you want to put up a steel company, please don’t be focusing so much on Tema, come to Oti Region,” the Minister said.
Knowing very well that the construction of such companies requires the availability of vast land, the Regional Minister said that the chiefs in the area had pledged their support for making available ligation-free lands for companies which would want to set up their plants in the region.
“…If you are looking for land, it will not be a problem…,” Mr. Makubu assured.
Having it at the back of his mind that a good road network was also a consideration for such investment the Regional Minister took time to let Ghanaians know how roads in the region had been improved.
He indicated that since 2017, the length of highway roads that had been developed, and those that had been improved upon were 210.6km and 407km respectively. On urban and feeder roads, Mr Makubu noted that 26.1km of urban road has been constructed, while that of feeder roads was 129km.
He mentioned some of the areas where these developed and maintained roads took place to be Hohoe to Jasikan, Nkonya Wuropong to Kwamekrom, and Kete Krachi to Buya.
On governance and administration, the Minister said that the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) had started the construction of its own administration block, senior staff bungalows to accommodate its key staff, as well as the construction of residential and administrative infrastructure to house key department and services.
Speaking on education, Mr. Makubu noted that the RCC had embarked upon a number of activities aimed at improving education in the region.
He noted that with the implementation of the free Senior High School (SHS) flagship programme, enrolment figures had increased drastically, from 15,285 in 2016 to 25,483 in 2022, representing 66.72% change, thereby bridging the accessibility gap at the SHS level.
He also observed that government had increased the total number of beneficiary schools from 164 in 2016 to 298 (50.94%), thereby pushing the number of beneficiaries from 103,128 from 51,692.
On educational infrastructure, Mr. Makubu spoke about the construction of various unit blocks which had either been completed or were on-going, all in a bid to ensure quality teaching and learning.
The Minister also gave an assurance to investors not to worry about their security and that of their plants and equipment, because security in the region had been beefed up.
