The paramount chief of Navrongo, Pe Asagpaare Aneakwoa Balinia Adda II, has commended President Akufo-Addo for the several development projects and initiatives such as roads, the Paga in-land port, among others, that his government has undertaken in the region, with an appeal for the completion of the Navrongo youth resource centre.
The Navro-Pio, who had earlier added his voice to calls for the early completion of the sports facility, reiterated its importance to the growth of sports in Navrongo and the region at large.
Work on the resource centre, which began in late 2018 has stalled due to payment infractions between the government and the contractor.
Although some appreciable work has been made on the project, it is yet to be fully completed and handed over for use.
At the moment, the mammoth facility has been left under the mercy of the weather, with tall grasses taking over the redeveloped pitch.
The youth of the town who are not enthused by the state of the project, poured onto the principal streets of the town in a recent protest to press the government to complete the resource centre.
The youth in that protest accused the government of neglect towards the people of Navrongo.
Addressing the gathering at the commissioning of the Upper East Region Water project on Friday (August 5), Pe Asagpaare, said the uncompleted resource centre had become a worry to many in the area including himself.
He said the Mboma City Football Club, which made it to the National Division One League as the only team from the Upper East Region was faced with a challenge in finding a place to hold its home matches.
He intimated that the lack of a facility could mar the performance of the team.
” Your Excellency, the non-completion of the Navrongo Youth Resource Centre is a source of worry to many in the municipality and I wish to use this platform to make a passionate appeal to you to complete the resource centre.”
“The only team in the region that qualified for the National Division One league is Mboma City FC, of which I am the patron. The completion of the resource centre will serve as a befitting ground for the team’s home matches.”
Creating an enabling environment
Although President Akufo-Addo in his speech did not respond to the appeal of the Navro-Pio, he assured the support of his government to create an enabling environment through the provision of social infrastructure to attract investors to the region.
He said with the availability of clean, safe drinking water now, he was hopeful investors would take advantage to establish small and medium-scale enterprises in the region to create employment for the youth to stimulate growth.
“Government remains committed to creating an enabling environment through the provision of social infrastructure that will attract businesses to our communities.
“Accordingly, I expect that with the availability of potable water in this area, investors will take advantage of the government’s flagship programs such as the one-district, one-factory initiative to establish small and medium-scale enterprises to create employment for young people so as to stimulate the growth and development of the domestic economy.”
The Upper East Region water project was constructed at a cost of €37 million and is expected to provide 4.5 million gallons of clean, safe, drinking water per day to more than 4,800 households across the region and reach more than 350,000 people.
The €37 million support funding is made up of a €12 million grant from the Netherlands government and a €25 million facility from the ING Bank also in the Netherlands.
Senyalah Castro
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