James Gunu, President Mahama’s nominee for District Chief Executive (DCE) of Akatsi-North, on Friday said if approved, he would activate local government structures, boost agricultural production and stimulate non-traditional revenue sources to enhance the district’s development.
Akatsi-North District in the Volta Region is one of the recently created districts carved from the Akatsi District now Akatsi-South District.
Mr Gunu, a corporate governance professional, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Thursday that besides the obvious approach of improving the dreary agricultural production to increase yield, he would build linkages between agro-produce and agro-processing to increase incomes of the people.
Akatsi-North District, at the tip of the receding forest belt, is largely agrarian and has cassava, maize, vegetables, and sweet potatoes as the main produce.
Mr Gunu said the district had the potential for large tomato, pepper, pineapple and mango production and that a food processing chain would be actively exploited.
He conceded that overseeing development in that district would be strenuous as traditional revenue sources were limited to small markets and a few fee paying businesses and facilities.
On infrastructure, Mr Gunu said he foresaw a rapid build-up of road arteries to considerably improve flow of agro-produce to markets within and outside the district as well as rapid work in the health and education sectors.
Mr Gunu was one time President of the Volta Region Student’s Association, and Patron of the EP University wing of the Tertiary Education Network (TEIN) of the National Democratic Congress.
Togbe Aklime Adifu IV, Awadada of Avenor Traditional Area, told the GNA on telephone that the nomination and consequent approval of Mr Gunu would meet the expectations of the two major groups constituting the district -Aves and Avenors – as the Member of Parliament was from one side and the DCE from the other.
He said besides this arrangement the nominee was one who the chiefs thought had the personal qualities to bring along all groups in the district for development.
Patrick Kwame Ahiabu, Presiding Member of the Akatsi-South District Assembly, said the Assembly would convene on Friday April 19, to confirm or reject Mr Gunu.
Source: GhanaWeb
