Government has reiterated its commitment to make Buipe the district capital of the central Gonja, the industrial hub of northern Ghana, to facilitate trade between the north and south of the country.

President John Mahama, who disclosed this at the 39th annual congress of the Gonjaland Youth Association in Buipe, mentioned the establishment of inland port to handle the inland cargo from Burkina Faso and other West African countries, the Diamond Cement Factory, Produce Buying Company (PBC) and Sheanut Processing Factory as some of the economic opportunities for commercial business in the area.

“As government, we recognise the economic importance and location at Buipe, a recognition that has informed some of the changes in Buipe,” President Mahama told his kinsmen.

The positioning of the town as the industrial hub, he disclosed, has a long term benefit for industrial business in the area of agriculture and port linkages in the Savanna Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) ecological zone.

“I remain resolute and I believe that through SADA, we can transform the savanna areas with industries with industries that will guarantee the youth with sustainable employment opportunities,” he assured.

President Mahama disclosed that government was making it possible for the people to have easy access to various locations through the provision of roads and also putting together incentives to encourage investors to invest in the Northern Region.

According to him, feasibility studies were being carried out in two locations in the Northern Region for the establishment of a sugar plantation and sugar factory to produce sugar not only for Ghana but for export.

He, however, appealed to residents to peacefully co-exist as “sustainable peace is a prerequisite for development”, adding that recurring conflicts were reasons why some investors were reluctant in coming.