President John Dramani Mahama has unveiled daring plans to rework the Volta Lake and its basin right into a strategic industrial and logistical hub beneath the federal government’s flagship 24-hour financial system coverage.
Talking at a multi-sectoral engagement on the Jubilee Home on Wednesday, Might 28, the President highlighted the “Volta Financial Hall” because the defining anchor of the formidable 24H+ Programme.
“The time has come to maneuver past hydropower and to place the Volta system because the spine of a brand new industrial Ghana,” President Mahama declared, outlining a transformative imaginative and prescient for the nation’s most important inland water physique.
Volta Lake to Change into Nationwide Manufacturing Backbone
The President described the Volta Lake as “largely underutilised in its broader financial potential,” regardless of its historic position in powering the nation by hydroelectricity.
“For many years, the Lake has been central to our electrical energy era due to the foresight of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah and the dedication of the VRA,” he mentioned. “However it stays largely underutilised in its broader financial potential.”
Below the 24H+ Programme, the Volta Basin might be repositioned as a nationwide manufacturing zone and logistics artery. The plan envisions:
- Cultivating over two million hectares of arable lakeside land.
- Creating the Lake’s huge fisheries potential.
- Establishing industrial parks alongside the Hall centered on processing agricultural output and manufacturing key industrial merchandise.
“These parks will serve each home and regional markets,” the President added, positioning the Hall as central to Ghana’s export and industrial enlargement agenda.
Lake Transport to Lower Prices and Drive Regional Steadiness
To allow the Hall’s success, the federal government plans to activate the Volta Lake as a totally purposeful transport freeway. Within the quick time period, it will join northern meals manufacturing zones to southern markets and export terminals, drastically lowering logistics prices.
“Within the medium time period, it’s going to rebalance the geography of trade, permitting traders to web site factories past the congested coast,” Mahama defined.
This logistics transformation would require:
- New floating property
- Building of lake ports
- Creation of long-term concession frameworks in partnership with the VRA and personal traders
Built-in Worth Chain Transformation
Past the Volta Hall, the President emphasised that the broader 24H+ Programme focuses on worth chain transformation throughout key sectors: agriculture, clothes, prescribed drugs, gentle manufacturing, and digital providers.
“It recognises that to make actual progress, we should transfer past siloed or piecemeal interventions,” he mentioned. “It identifies the structural bottlenecks going through our financial system and addresses them comprehensively—by infrastructure, finance, land methods, and abilities growth.”
Infrastructure and Enterprise Assist
To help manufacturing and exports, the federal government is investing in:
- Industrial parks and logistics hubs
- Transport upgrades
- Worth chain financing by way of the Growth Financial institution of Ghana and the Enterprise Capital Belief Fund
President Mahama defined: “We’re providing inexpensive long-term capital to companies working inside the 24H+ precedence sectors.”
Securing Land and Expertise for Development
The 24H+ Programme additionally consists of:
- Growth of land banks with safe titles and infrastructure
- The rollout of Aspire24, a abilities programme to organize youth for shift-based work, entrepreneurship, and digital roles
“It is going to be certain that Ghanaians—not simply machines—energy the 24-hour financial system,” the President affirmed.
Incentives and Decentralised Implementation
To draw funding, the Programme will introduce performance-based incentives:
- Tax aid on equipment and inputs
- Quick-tracked regulatory approvals
- Export help mechanisms
The President was eager to emphasize decentralisation: “Every district will set up its personal 24H+ Implementation Taskforce… making certain that every area can chart its personal growth path—whether or not in agribusiness, tourism, crafts, or manufacturing.”
Subsequent Steps: Session, Laws and Launch
The complete Draft Programme Doc might be launched on Tuesday for public session, with the official launch set for 1st July 2025 – Ghana’s Republic Day.
“I invite you—lots of whom helped form it—to be a part of its finalisation,” President Mahama informed the traders. To institutionalise supply, he introduced plans to determine the 24H+ Secretariat as an unbiased authority, reporting on to the Presidency.
A Nationwide Reset in Movement
In his closing remarks, President Mahama underscored that the 24H+ Programme is now not an thought however a concrete plan in movement. “That is no extra only a imaginative and prescient. It’s a plan. A structured, sequenced, and inclusive plan. And it’s already in movement… Ghana is able to take this subsequent step. And we’re taking it collectively.”
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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Feedback, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform don’t essentially characterize the views or coverage of Multimedia Group Restricted.
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