Two regions to pilot new development model

A home-grown economic framework developed to speed up the pace of progress of the country is to be piloted in two selected regions.

The “root-BASED Economic Development (r-BED) model” is being championed by Daasebre Professor Oti Boateng, Omanhene of the New Juaben Traditional Area.

The pilot implementation follows the successful global promotion of the concept paper at the 79th United Nations (UN) International Civil Service Commission meeting, held in Rome, to build international consensus as the new theme model for Africa and the developing world.

A statement received by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) from the office of the Omanhene, said the two regions reflect the diverse geographical and cultural character of Ghana and would pre-test the model for global adoption.

It said the r-BED has generated overwhelming interest among high-profile frontline development institutions across the world, particularly, within the UN common system.

The statement said key inputs were gathered from global leaders in development, including prominent Ghanaians like Dr Evelyn Anita Stokes-Hayford, Ghana’s Ambassador to Italy, and Permanent Representative to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and Peter Cardinal Appiah-Turkson after the Rome presentation.

It said Daasebre Oti Boateng was poised to make the r-BED model, the nation’s most enduring global intellectual legacy and urged all to embrace the initiative, particularly at this critical moment, where the search for new ideas to propel national development had become urgent.

To help elicit nationwide support, the Omanhene would be presenting the model’s concept paper to strategic stakeholders - the media, corporate Ghana, chieftaincy and government, the statement said.

The r-BED is a systemic integrated communal development model utilizing time-tested indigenous institutions of governance and internalized community support systems to build self-secured local economies.