President John Dramani Mahama has pledged to personally champion investment-ready projects under the Upper East Region’s Prosperity through Enterprise, Agriculture, Resilience and Livelihoods (PEARL) framework to accelerate the socio-economic transformation of the region.
He said the transformation of the Upper East Region was an integral part of Ghana’s broader economic transformation agenda and must, therefore be given the needed support.
Development forum
The President made the pledge in a speech delivered on his behalf by the Presidential Adviser on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development, Dr Augustus Goosie Tanoh, at the opening of the Upper East Regional Development and Business Forum and Exhibition in Bolgatanga yesterday, organised in collaboration with the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana.
He said that after the PEARL framework was validated through stakeholder consultations, he would direct the country’s planning institutions and relevant sector ministries to engage with its priority projects to ensure they were integrated into national development planning and medium-term budgeting processes.
“I will personally champion the Upper East Region’s investment-ready projects in my engagements with development partners, international financial institutions and private investors.
The transformation of this region is an essential part of Ghana’s broader economic transformation,” the President stated.
Mr Mahama further assured the people of the Upper East Region that no part of Ghana would be left behind in the country’s development agenda.
“A national programme that does not reach the Upper East Region with the same urgency, commitment and ambition that it brings to every other part of our country is no true national programme,” he stressed.
Integration
President Mahama explained that the PEARL framework fitted squarely within his government’s 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme, which aimed to transform Ghana’s productive sectors through value addition, industrialisation and export-led growth.
He disclosed that since the launch of the programme in July last year, prospective investments worth US$11.5 billion had been mobilised, with US$5.5 billion already secured through binding Joint Development Agreements.
Additionally, he said more than 605,000 hectares of land had been mobilised under the Participatory Land Access Model to support productive investments while preserving community ownership.
The President said the programme was expected to generate about 1.7 million quality jobs before the end of his current term.
On financing the GH¢8.6 billion PEARL framework, the President urged the region to adopt innovative financing mechanisms by blending public and private capital, development finance, climate finance, pension funds, diaspora investments and mineral revenues.
He stressed that individual projects should be fully prepared and made bankable before seeking investor support, adding that properly costed and financially viable projects would attract stronger investor confidence.
Airport project
President Mahama also reaffirmed his government’s commitment to the proposed Bolgatanga Airport project.
He said the government recognised the strategic importance of the airport and would mobilise the required resources and partnerships to commence its construction.
According to him, the airport would facilitate trade, attract investment, support tourism, improve emergency response and strengthen regional integration within the ECOWAS sub-region.
Region open for business
The Upper East Regional Minister, Donatus Akamugri Atanga, described the forum as a defining moment in the development history of the region.
“Our message today is simple and unequivocal: the Upper East Region is open for business.
We are ready to partner, innovate, invest, and work collaboratively with all stakeholders to build a dynamic, resilient and competitive regional economy,” he said.
Key investment priorities
Among the flagship projects outlined under the PEARL Framework are the completion of the Tamne Irrigation Dam, rehabilitation of the Tono and Vea irrigation schemes, revival of the Pwalugu Tomato Factory and the Bolgatanga Meat Processing Factory, and the transformation of the Fumbisi Rice Valley into a major commercial agricultural and agro-industrial hub.
Other priority initiatives include the establishment of an Agricultural Technical University at Sandema, development of a Drone and Satellite Remote Sensing Programme, upgrading of the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital and the War Memorial Hospital into teaching hospitals, elevation of the Bawku Hospital to referral status, establishment of a medical school at the University of Applied Sciences and Technology (UAT) in Navrongo and promotion of ceramics, cement and quarry industries to add value to the region’s abundant mineral resources.
Commendation
The Executive Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana, Samson Asaki Awingobit, lauded the vision underpinning the PEARL framework, describing it as a bold demonstration of purposeful leadership and a clear commitment to unlocking sustainable economic opportunities across the Upper East Region.
He stressed that no country could attain meaningful and lasting economic transformation without investing in its productive sectors and expressed the association’s commitment to the initiative.
The President of the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs, Pe Ditundini Adiali Ayagitam III, also commended the initiative, describing it as a step in the right direction for the development of the region.
He, however, urged stakeholders to move the framework beyond rhetoric and ensure its full implementation, stressing that tangible action was needed to translate the vision into meaningful development outcomes for the people of the Upper East Region.
