We want the petroleum hub project to be established in Jomoro - Residents to government

The chiefs and people of the Jomoro municipality in the Western Region have called on the government to go ahead and establish the petroleum hub in the area to create direct and indirect jobs for the residents of Jomoro.

In June 2024, the TCP-UIC Consortium signed a 12-billion-dollar agreement with the government of Ghana to establish the first phase of the much-awaited petroleum hub project in the Jomoro municipality.

Already, the chiefs of Jomoro had given 20,000 acres of land to the government to establish the project, but some people in the Ellembelle District are fighting against the establishment of the project.

According to those people in Ellembelle, the land size given to the government was too much, and they called on the government to halt the project.

A group in the Ellembelle district held a press conference over the weekend to oppose the project.

They alleged that the government would use the land to establish other projects for their benefit.

Addressing the media in Jomoro on Monday, July 1, 2024, Mark Asmah Arthur, the leader of the Jomoro Developmental Agenda, described those people from Ellembelle as detractors.

"Ladies and gentlemen, amid our joy and wait for the groundbreaking ceremony for the commencement of the project, the enemies, detractors, and doomsayers of Jomoro’s development and advancement have stood up again to denigrate and mar the minds of the populace against the project."

"It is with great joy that I receive the news of the 12-billion-dollar agreement signed between the government of Ghana and the TCP-UIC Consortium for the much-awaited first phase of the petroleum hub project."

"The Awulae, chiefs, and people of the Western Nzema traditional area (Jomoro) are grateful for the government's steadfastness and determination to ensure that Jomoro becomes the Rotterdam of Africa and the major trading grounds for petroleum and petrochemical products," he said.

He emphasized that the project would benefit the entire Jomoro municipality.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we, the people of Jomoro, know the enormous benefits that come with a project of this kind, spanning from changing our agrarian local economy to a more robust, civilized, and commerce-driven economy that will positively affect the livelihood of every individual in our municipality," he said.

He established that "for the purposes of clarity, we want to state that the name of our Paramount Chief is Awulae Annor Adjaye III, who has power over the land of Jomoro that the 20,000 acres of land form part of. The entire Jomoro land is about 543,000 acres, and the petroleum hub project is taking just 20,000 acres, which is about 3.68%, not for anything but for development that would inure to the benefit we all anticipate."

"Fellow Nzemas, we are confident that this project, with emphasis, is going to be a blessing to the entirety of Nzemaland and the country at large, but we, the people of Jomoro, will always take an exception to own the project and see it come to fruition. The Chiefs and people of the Western Nzema Traditional Area (Jomoro) are the rightful people to say otherwise to this project, and for that reason, the views of other people that match with their position are what shall be considered and not from those who wish that Jomoro never rises to compete with other well-positioned districts and municipalities," he added.

He said the project was going to create over 700,000 jobs for Ghanaians, and the people of Jomoro people, appealing to the government not to relocate the project anywhere.

"It is devastating to know that when the same project was relocated to Ellembelle, there were no such traces of agitation on land or resistance against the project. The people of Jomoro have had enough of their ill-sandwiched advice and would not tolerate it again. We want to use this medium to emphasize that the project is to be in Jomoro, and for that matter, any group of people or persons who seek to speak in the name of Nzema are only doing so for falsehood and propaganda."

"We are reliably informed that a number of training centers have been earmarked for the training of youth from Jomoro and the entire Nzemaland. These include, but are not limited to, Takoradi Technical University, Kikam Technical Institute, and Half Assini Technical School, all in the Western region."

"We wish to pledge our unwavering support to the government of Ghana, the TCP-UIC Consortium, the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation, and the people of Ghana in the development of the petroleum hub. We are confident that this project will drive significant development, positioning Jomoro to play a pivotal role in maximizing the country’s GDP," he said.