For over two decades, the skeletal structure of the Sunyani Regional Library has stood as a silent symbol of abandoned dreams.

A project that was meant to open doors of knowledge, rather became a monument of neglect, but thanks to the members of the vibrant Sunyani Adolescents Parliament.

At the 3rd Sitting of the Sunyani Adolescents Parliament established under the Resilient City for Adolescents project, the Bono Regional Minister, Lawyer Joseph Addae Akwaboa, reaffirmed President John Dramani Mahama’s renewed commitment to complete the long-abandoned library project, which was first started in 2003 under President John Agyekum Kufuor.

Delivering a speech on behalf of the Minister, Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive, Vincent Antwi-Agyei, said the project had received significant attention from the National Library Authority, the Ministry of Education, and the Bono Regional Coordinating Council.

“Since I assumed office, the completion of the Sunyani library has been one of my top priorities. I have been to Accra to get the project repackaged and awarded for completion by GETFund. I want to assure you that work will start very soon.”

The library project, one of the landmark education initiatives in the Bono Region, was envisioned to become a modern centre for reading, research, and digital learning with ICT labs, discussion halls, and innovation spaces for youth entrepreneurship.

For years, however, it remained an unfulfilled promise.

The Sunyani Adolescents Parliament, supported by Global Media Foundation, Citizens Watch Ghana, Indigenous Women Empowerment Network, Ecorys UK, and Fondation Botnar, has been relentless in its advocacy for the project’s completion, insisting that thousands of young people are being deprived of opportunities for self-development and research.

Minister Akwaboa underscored that education remains the cornerstone of national development and a key driver of social mobility.

He also challenged the youth to cultivate a reading culture, engage in critical thinking, and use their knowledge to solve real problems within their communities.

The Minister pledged the Bono Regional Coordinating Council’s full commitment to sustaining the Sunyani Adolescent Parliament initiative, acknowledging the youth’s persistence in championing the library project.

The Speaker of the Sunyani Adolescents Parliament, Daniel Sarkodie Frimpong, expressed joy for the commitment being shown by the government through the regional Minister.

He pledged the full support of the Adolescents Parliament to the government for the completion of the regional library project.