News:
June 25, 2019
Secretary General of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, John Azumah, is advocating for a new capital for the Republic of Ghana to aid the sub-region’s integration process.
As long as countries like Burkina Faso and Mali depend on Ghana greatly through its port system at Tema in terms of business, a new capital at Kintampo in the Brong-Ahafo region would be a central point, with vast flat land to take the pressure away from the present capital Accra which is chocked and experiencing flooding with any heavy down pour.
“Despite the fact that it would take time to get a new capital, we would have a new airport, railway network and again the new rail net work fit into President Nana Akufo-Addo’s vision of building a rail network up to Burkina Faso and move up to Mali”.
As to what time frame should be given for the relocation of the new capital for the country, he said, “we can say in the next five years, election is coming up next year, I keep insisting on the President’s vision he put in his manifesto and despite all the criticisms he has to and is going to yield results”.
Mr. John Azumah further noted that, with the upcoming elections, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Peoples National Convention (PNC), Progressive Peoples Party (PPP) and the others should be thinking of getting a new capital and put it in their manifesto.
“Whoever comes to power should endeavor to start something. There are so many ways of starting this things, especially involving the private sector, PPP must come in the infrastructural development”.
He said government should establish an enabling environment for the private sector to come in and take advantage in building the infrastructure.
In addition, we can learn a lot from other countries with new capital if we have in-depth research on how some of these capitals have developed and political parties should be held by their manifesto moving in next year how they would solve some of the problems that Accra is facing.
“The next five to ten years, you would be surprise that we would have a modest start, but we would have a modern capital that would take care of ECOWAS for the integration issues between the Anglophones, Francophone’s and Lusophone countries in the sub-region”.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com