Ghana must build 'communities' to attract investors - Prof. Mensah

Professor John Victor Mensah, a Professor of Development Economics at the School for Development Studies (SDS) of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) has advocated for the building of livable, capable, secure and competitive communities in Ghana to attract investors.

Communities to be created must have all facilities that made life comfortable and also be able to provide an avenue for employees to generate income.

The professor was speaking on the focal topic "Attracting investment for comprehensive, viable and sustainable industrial development in the Central Region" at the ongoing Central Region Investment Conference.

The four-day conference is being organised on the theme "Positioning the Central Region as a preferred investment destination” is under the auspices of the Central Regional Development Commission (CEDECOM) in collaboration with the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) and the Regional House of Chiefs (THC).

Prof Mensah explained that every investor wanted to invest in a secured community devoid of robbery, theft, preventable disasters and with competitive advantage and therefore called on authorities to focus efforts on building communities that stand the test of time.

He called for a stronger collaboration between District Assemblies, traditional leaders and the Town and Country Planning to ensure that communities were developed in a way that would make it attract the needed investment.

He said due to non-existence spatial planning, ignorance and the lack of political will to enforce existing laws, community planning had been haphazardly done in the Country.

Prof. Mensah observed that many investors mostly estate developers had sited their projects in swampy areas of the country resulting in frequent flooding at these areas but the authorities unfortunately looked on unconcerned without any action to halt such practices.

Sadly, he noted, it was the government which had to waste a lot of resources to salvage the situation and stressed the urgent need to enforce the laws devoid of politics while calling for attitudinal change among Ghanaians to turn the development narrative of the Country.

Dr. Ishmael Edjekumhene, Executive Director of Kumasi Institute of Technology and Energy (KITE) underscored the crucial role leadership played in development and urged the country's leaders to be bold and firm as leaders for the citizenry to follow.

"In this country, we have entrusted responsibility to people but they are not leading. Leadership is crucial and so let somebody take the lead and provide a road map and we will follow", he stated.

For his part, Mr. Kwamena Duncan, Central Regional Minister said leadership was key but it required attitudinal change to create the threshold for development and called for a compliance society willing to promptly obey leadership decisions.