COME November 6, 2010, a grand durbar of chiefs and people of the Upper East Region will be held to climax the 15th anniversary celebration of the region.
The durbar will also be used to showcase the culture of the people and expose to the outside world that the region is ready to welcome both local and foreign investors to explore the investment potential.
Yes, the Upper East is 50 and officials are working around the clock to prepare the region for what is expected to be a never-to-be-forgotten massive celebration.
In 1960, the region was carved out of the Northern Region to be known as the Upper Region. It was later split into two—the Upper East and Upper West Regions.
A series of events have been outlined to commemorate the year-long celebration, which was launched in Bolgatanga, the regional capital, in March, this year. The second launch was also done in the national capital, Accra, a few weeks later.
The theme for the celebration is: “Upper East @ 50—Harnessing our endowed resources for accelerated development through education.”
Launching the event, the Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, said the focus of the entire celebration was to market the region’s potential to attract investors, expose the rich cultural and tourist attractions to the outside world and foster unity and peaceful co-existence among the people.
It is hoped that during the period, some major development projects will be undertaken to serve as land marks for the celebration. No wonder frantic efforts are ongoing to rehabilitate roads in Bolgatanga while a massive street lighting project has been completed to illuminate the regional capital.
New traffic lights are also being installed at major intersections in the regional capital, Bolgatanga to control human and vehicular traffic and bring sanity in the town which is the gateway to the region.
Several activities, including sporting event, educational and cultural events have also being lined up to mark the anniversary.
They include beauty pageant at the district level culminating in a grand regional contest to choose Miss Upper East; musical jams, quiz competition, marathon and health walk and inter schools debate.
There is also an investment forum and a home-coming event to provide a platform for both sons and daughters of the land to come home to deliberate on the future of the region.
Aside the funfair that is expected to characterise the celebration, it is believed that what the region needs @ 50 is the revival of the local economy, industry and agriculture not only to provide employment for the people, but also perk up the region’s economic prosperity.
The potential exists on all fronts; there are vast lands for food production, the livestock and poultry industry is still virgin and ready to be tapped for commercial production. In the mining sector, there are vast deposits of minerals ready to be winced from the bowels of the earth, especially in the Talensi-Nabdam and Builsa Districts.
The large volumes of rocks are also ready to be harnessed for the marble industry. The tourism and hospitality sectors are crying for attention and the private sector will be encouraged to take a bold step to venture into that investment.
At 50, the expectation of most of the people in the region are that, existing industries such as the cotton ginnery at Pusu-Namongo in the Talensi-Nabdam District, the defunct Meat Processing Factory located at Zuarungu are also resuscitated. That will create employment opportunities for the region’s teeming youth who, out of frustration, migrate to the southern parts of Ghana in search for menial jobs.
Many more will also look forward to the re-activation of the Tono and Vea Irrigation Projects to provide unfettered access to agricultural lands for food production.
Luckily under the guidance of the current Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, the Northern Star Tomato Factory, which processes raw tomato into puree, has been revived as part of the government’s efforts to provide ready market for large volumes of tomatoes, which hitherto would have gone waste on the farms. The factory is also looking forward to diversify its production process to include processing of vegetables like mango, pepper and water melon, to ensure an all-year round production.
The Golden Jubilee celebration of the Upper East Region appears to have struck a greater call for investment in major sectors of the local economy. As the government through the Regional Co-ordinating Council was striving to bring education, health and social infrastructure closer to the people, there is the need for the people to maintain peace and security without which, there could be no development.
Violence and conflicts in whatever form they occur, damage relations and disunite communities. The people of the region must know that sustainable economy could not be achieved in an atmosphere of violence. If the region is to stand on its feet to develop its resources and take its destiny in its own hands, then all must eschew violence and conflicts.
Indigenes who are entrepreneurs and have the resources to invest, must also be encouraged to come home and invest as the old adage says “There is no place like home.” No one can meaningfully develop the region than those whose umbilical cords are tied to it. This is the time to come home and help in the rebirth of the region.
The Upper East is celebrating its Golden Jubilee at a time where the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), a programme targeted to seal the development void between the northern and southern Ghana have been passed into law.
It is anticipated that the celebration of the golden jubilee of the region at a time that the SADA programme is set to take off, will project the region to higher heights in terms of socio-economic development. Come the next 50 years, a more happier story will be told.
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