Government is actively working to operationalise the newly constructed University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences at Bunso in the Eastern Region.
President Johnson Dramani Mahama made the disclosure when the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs, led by Nene Sakite II, Paramount Chief of the Manya Krobo Traditional Area and President of the House of Chiefs, who was accompanied by other chiefs and queen mothers from the region paid a courtesy call to him on Wednesday.
The University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences at Bunso has been constructed but is yet to become fully functional, and the President’s assurance signalled that getting it operational was on the government’s active agenda.
The briefing on the university came alongside an update the President gave the delegation on government’s development plans for the region and the country.
President Mahama said renewed investor confidence, driven by the economic gains recorded since he assumed office in January last year, was giving the government room to drive infrastructure development across all parts of Ghana.
He pointed to a stable macroeconomic environment as the foundation for that push.
“We are meeting all our debt obligations. Inflation is down. The currency has appreciated in value and we have a relatively stable macroeconomic environment. The economy is more resilient and is withstanding external shocks arising from the Middle East conflict,” he said.
The President also assured the chiefs that the stalled Eastern Regional Hospital project would be restarted, with the contractor directed to return to site.
He added that sod would be cut for three new hospital projects for the newly created regions.
On healthcare, he walked the delegation through the recently launched Free Primary Healthcare policy and its role within a broader three-tier health system alongside the National Health Insurance Scheme and Mahama Cares.
President Mahama was candid that job creation remained a pressing concern, saying that government alone could not absorb the numbers entering the job market and that investment in the private sector, agriculture and industry was needed to tackle youth unemployment.
Nene Sakite II welcomed the President’s updates warmly, congratulating him on the progress made and expressing the region’s appreciation for ongoing projects. “I would like to indicate that we are taking note of the work being done around us in the region. And for that, we are greatly appreciative. We are hoping that work will continue till the end,” he said.
Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang and other senior government appointees attended the meeting.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
