Takoradi: Nana Kobina Nketsia V, President of the Western Regional House of Chiefs, has called for value addition to local raw materials to enhance economic growth and sustainable development.
According to Ghana News Agency, the Western Region, the most resource-endowed region in Ghana with its history of contribution to national revenue, export, and industrial activities, continued to lag in terms of the industrialisation needed to add value to its raw materials.
Nana Nketsia V, who is also the Omanhene of Essikado Traditional Area, made these remarks during the Western Regional Investment Forum organised by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) under its Investment Opportunity Mapping Project in Takoradi.
The forum, themed 'Driving Local Investments - Unlocking Regional Potential, Mapping Opportunities and Mobilizing Growth in the Western Region,' was part of GIPC's Regional Investment Roadshow aimed at providing a platform for stakeholders to deliberate on investment opportunities in the Western Region.
Nana Nketsia V emphasised the importance of local investments and urged investors to focus on investments that promote culture and benefit the people for shared prosperity.
Dr. Akwasi Opong-Fosu, the Board Chairman of GIPC, highlighted that the investment opportunity mapping project was initiated to systematically identify and promote bankable investments and ready opportunities across all 16 regions of the country. He noted that the roadshow initiative prioritised investments that promote industrialisation, exports, jobs, skills transfer, and value addition to local raw materials.
Madam Rachel Fosua Sarpong, the Chief Director at the Western Regional Co-ordinating Council (WRCC), described the roadshow as a strategic turning point and a platform to translate promise into productivity. She emphasised the collective responsibility of stakeholders to transform the region's rich natural resources into wealth.