V/R MDCES criticised for inaction on tourism and agric

Dr John Gatsi, an Economist and a Senior Lecturer at the University of Cape Coast has criticized the Municipal and District Chief Executives in the Volta region for doing little to market the region’s agricultural and tourism potentials.

He noted that, though the region was endowed with immense potentials in agriculture and tourism, capable of generating reliable sources for development, government appointees have failed to project these and overly depend on central government for support.

Dr Gatsi was speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Ho on the region’s economy and the construction of an airport in Ho.

He said the Ho airport could drive the service sector and create a vibrant local economy, provided government appointees-Municipal and District Chief Executives developed “other skills” to lift up the region.

“Our MDCEs must not only be interested in serving governments. They need other skills other than belonging to political parties. They must be innovative and creative and take support from central government as supplementary,” Dr Gatsi stated.

He said in the last five years, the services and tourism sectors grew faster than the traditional products and challenged the MDCES to re-position the region to take advantage of opportunities to be created by the airport.

Dr Gatsi urged them to develop a tourism map for the region and work on a policy to promote rice production.

He also suggested investments in parks and gardens and beautification of the district capitals, especially Ho, the Regional capital, to make it an educational tourism centre.