Minister of Information lauds Brong-Ahafo at policy fair

Mr Fritz Baffour, Minister of Information on Tuesday lauded Brong-Ahafo as a peaceful region with a unique position and culture in the country.

Speaking at the media launch of the Brong-Ahafo Regional Policy Fair in Sunyani, on Tuesday, the minister noted that the inhabitants of the region had learnt to live together as one people.

The fair, slated to come off from the second to fifth May this year, under theme “Building Together in a Better Ghana”, is designed “to create an opportunity for the people to seek the right information and interact with policy makers and implementers, with the view to enhancing policy formulation and review”.

The event would bring all the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) together “as a one-stop shop for policy discourse bordering on all sectors of the economy and national life”.

He said President John Evans Atta Mills had repeatedly assured Ghanaians of “his commitment to running an open, transparent and accountable governance system that has included Ghanaians, particularly those at the grassroots level”.

The Information Minister said, that had been achieved through constant interactions, programmes and activities like the Meet-the-Press series, explaining that the Policy Fair concept “is a follow up and adds up to promote participation and transparency in the administration of our country”.

Mr. Baffour added, though the MDAs and MMDAs were in constant touch with the people, one unique way of ensuring that the right information got to the people for an instant feedback was through the platform provided by the Ghana Policy Fair.

To make the event more interactive, he said there would be dialogue sessions where participants would dissect and discuss important national developmental and other pertinent issues relating to the region and the country as a whole.

Mr. Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister said the fair, being organised by the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Information, was pinched on four thematic areas of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) manifesto.

The four areas are Transparent and Accountable Governance, Strong Economy for Real Jobs, Investing in People and Expanding Infrastructure for Growth, which he said had been the bedrock of the government’s policies and initiatives to improve the quality of life of the people.

Mr. Nyamekye-Marfo emphasized, the MDAs and the 22 assemblies in the region as well as the private sector would come together to showcase their achievements including projects and programmes in the region since 2009 for the viewing and attention of the public.

Mr. Nyamekye-Marfo expressed the hope that, the total number of 80 institutions including the 22 Assemblies and MDAs in the region would ensure active and meaningful participation in the four-day programme.

He announced that beside the exhibition of projects and achievements by participating bodies and organizations, dialogue sessions had been incorporated in the programme to solicit expert opinions on some topical policy issues with specific emphasis on the Brong-Ahafo Region.

The Regional Minister explained that, whilst he would speak on the theme “The Better Ghana Agenda-the Brong-Ahafo Experience” on Wednesday afternoon, Professor Esi Awuah, Vice Chancellor, University of Energy and Natural Resources would address “Establishment of Public University in the Brong-Ahafo Region-How Far Have We Gone” on Thursday morning.

He said in the afternoon of Thursday, Mr. Yaw Akrasi-Sarpong, Executive Director, Narcotics Control Board, would deliver on “The Narcotics and Illicit Drug Menace”, whiles on Friday morning Mr. Prince Obeng-Asante, Deputy Managing Director, Ghana Nuts Limited in Techiman would speak on “Harnessing the Investments Potentials of the Region-The Role of the Private Sector”.

The dialogue session will end on Friday afternoon when Mr. Ali Awimbila, Brong-Ahafo Regional Director of the National Service Scheme will speak on “The Youth in Agriculture-the National Service Experience.

The Director-General of Ghana Meteorological Agency would make a presentation on “Climatic and Weather Trend Analysis and their Implications for Agriculture in the Brong-Ahafo Region” before Mr. Awimbila’s delivery.**