Western Regional Minister Advocates for Policy Reform in Rural Development at 2024 Busia Institute Lecture
The Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah is calling for a reformed approach to policies formulated towards the development of rural communities.
Giving remarks at the 2024 Busia Institute Lecture at the Takoradi Technical University on the theme, Housing The Future: Innovative Approaches to Rural Development in Ghana, he called on the Minister of Works and Housing, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah to consider policies and interventions targeted at resource-endowed regions.
Mr. Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah underscored the importance of adopting indigenous technologies and the use of raw local materials.
“I want to use this opportunity to plead with you and your Ministry to consider policies, interventions targeted at resource-endowed regions, More so, when the rural-urban population is barely 50-50 percent, and therefore when we can cover the rural areas, then we are virtually covering Ghana,”
” Permit me to briefly state that our approach to rural development may have to be redefined and a cross-cutting policy formulated to address the multi-dimensional challenges confronting our rural communities,”
“I believe it is time we use our local materials and technologies to build sustainable and affordable homes. We must ensure our rural communities have the skill set to utilise local materials and appropriate technology to build cheap but decent homes in our communities,” Mr. Darko said.
Keynote Speaker for the event, Housing Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah revealed that data is available to surmount challenges in the housing sector, which would make it easier to work with the private sector to ensure development.
He is expectant of contractors moving to the site to begin work once the cabinet gives a green light to a list of selected districts for the proposed project.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah highlighted the benefits of adopting new technologies for the project.
” We need to pay attention to rural districts and that is why we are going back to the old template of rural housing but this time using the compressed building technology and the affordable and alternative building technology to start a district housing program,”
” In the coming weeks, contractors will get on-site when the cabinet approves the list of the selected districts that are going to start this pilot project,”
” The technology we are using which is the compressed earth technology, the cost is lower, and more eco-friendly, and it’s easier for local artisans to subscribe to this approach and be able to use it at the local level,”
The lecture was organised by the Busia Institute for Rural and Democratic Development to facilitate a dialogue among stakeholders, identify innovative solutions, and inform policy decisions that promote sustainable development in Ghana.
As part of the event, there was an exhibition show, where students from secondary cycle institutions through innovations have manufactured items such as tables, and lamps with waste woods and metals amongst others.
