The re-constituted Bono Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) has been inaugurated with a call on Municipal and District chief executives (MDCEs) in the region to prioritise development.
The MMDCEs were urged to make the paramount interest of the region and its development their trademark.
They were further reminded that development could not take place without investment in the various sectors of the economy, and therefore, they were required to put in place mechanisms to attract investment.
Madam Justina Owusu-Banahene, Bono Regional Minister, who inaugurated the Council, asked the MDCEs to prioritise agriculture, particularly, poultry and cashew, tourism, the hospitality industry, transport, education, and Information Communication and Technology, which had huge economic prospects, in the region.
She said: “The RCC would collaborate with the Ghana Tourism Authority, media, and other stakeholders, including Traditional Councils, to embark on an investment drive to harness the potentials of the region.”
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONSULTATIVE FORUM
Madam Owusu-Banahene proposed a Regional Development Consultative Forum to address the strategic development needs of the region.
“It is my hope that the Forum will be a strategic platform where we can solicit inputs from major stakeholders and citizens on the way forward for our region,” she said.
The Regional Minister urged the council members to avail themselves to be part of this endeavour where collectively the development agenda of the region could be pushed forward, devoid of any partisan or factional considerations.
Madam Owusu-Banahene noted that progress and development could only be realised through unity, and, therefore, called on all stakeholders, including the security services, political parties, traditional and religious leaders, and pressure groups to channel their energies to peace-building and remained development-oriented.
GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS
Madam Owusu-Banahene said several government interventions, such as the Planting for Food and Jobs, Planting for Export and Rural Development, Free Senior High School programme, industrialisation drive under the One-District, One-Factory (1D1F), and construction of warehouses and storage facilities, were all indications that the government was on course.
She gave the assurance that the council would depend on the District and Municipal Assemblies, through which most of these interventions were being implemented, to ensure that these programmes and projects were positively impacting on the lives of citizens.
The Presiding Judge in charge of the Sunyani High Court Two, Justice Gabriel Mate-Teye, took the members of the newly re-constituted RCC through the official and oaths of secrecy.
