Univ of Environment & Sustainable Dev won’t be relocated - Akufo-Addo
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Thursday began a three-day tour of the Eastern Region, with an assurance that the University of Environment and Sustainable Development would remain in Somanya.
“There is only one University of Environment and Sustainable Development here in the Eastern Region.
It is the first public university in the Eastern Region. It has only one vice-chancellor; it has one administrative headquarters.
The vice-chancellor’s residence is going to be built here (in Somanya). The administrative headquarters is also being built here (in Somanya),” he stated.
“I am hoping that by July 2019 the university would be completed and that will give me the opportunity to come to this campus to inaugurate the new University of Environment and Sustainable Development,” he added, to rapturous applause from the gathering.
President Akufo-Addo gave the assurance when he inspected construction work on structures of the university in Somanya in the Yilo Krobo municipality as part of his visit to the region.
He said the purpose of his visit to Somanya was not only to renew relations and acquaintances with the people but also put to death some misinformation that had been fed into the system.
Diversionary tactics
President Akufo-Addo explained that the agreement between Ghana and the Italian Government for the establishment of the university did not allow him nor anyone else to relocate it to Bunso, as was being propagated by opponents of the government.
He said the misinformation about the relocation of the university to Akyem Bunso was a deliberate attempt by opponents of the government to divert the attention of Ghanaians from the good works of his government.
“They, in their desperation to get to power, are prepared to say anything.
Their purpose of coming back to power is to continue the programme of ‘create, loot and share’.
That programme is dead in Ghana. It will not happen again; that is not the programme the people of Ghana are looking for,” the President added.
He urged the chiefs and the people of Yilo Krobo not to be distracted by the propaganda but rather encourage the contractors to finish the work as scheduled.
President Akufo-Addo reiterated the commitment of the government to provide the requisite support to complete the project on schedule.
2019 Budget
Touching on the 2019 budget, President Akufo-Addo gave an assurance that every part of the country would witness substantial infrastructural development that would help put Ghana on the path of progress and prosperity.
“So the characters who will come here to try and peddle sectarian, ethnocentric, backward politics, you don’t have to worry yourselves about them.
They have already been rejected by the people of Ghana and they are going to be rejected again in 2020,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo appealed for the full support of the people of Yilo Krobo towards the realisation of the government’s vision.
“We went into a deep hole in Ghana and we are now trying to dig ourselves out of it.
Digging ourselves out of a deep hole is not easy, but we are going to do it and we are going to succeed and bring this country up again,” he added.
Roads
The Minister for Roads and Highways, Mr Kwesi Amoako Atta, announced that some roads in both the Yilo Krobo and the Manya Krobo Traditional areas had been awarded on contract to address the problem of bad roads in those areas.
He mentioned some of them as Somanya town roads, the Odumase-Oterkporlu road and some roads in the Asesewa area.
A member of the Yilo Krobo Traditional Council, Nene Ayertey Ayiborku, appealed to the government to extend water to Klo-Agogo and its environs in the traditional area.
President Akufo-Addo also visited the Akosombo Textiles Limited (ATL) and assured the workers of the government's support to revamp the factory.
