President John Mahama yesterday stormed Kyebi, hometown of the main opposition leader, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, of the New Patriotic Party with an appeal to the people of the area to vote for development.
Mobbed by hundreds of party supporters who filled the Kyebi lorry park in the Eastern Region, President Mahama urged the residents to discern and vote for a party that is focused on development.
According to the president, the various projects, undertaken by the government in the areas of water supply, roads, markets, agriculture, education and mining with the aim of improving the lot of the people of Akyeneba, should be evidence of the capability of the government for which the people of Akyem should vote for the ruling National Democratic Congress.
President Mahama said the government would never discriminate against Akyem Ablakwa in the distribution of national resources, announcing that more projects have been earmarked for the area.
The President cited the ongoing Apedwa- Kyebi-Bonsu Junction road project as one of the cocoa roads that has the objective of opening up the area for economic development.
Touching on small scale mining, which is highly active in the area, President Mahama, who earlier paid a courtesy call on the Okyehene, Osagyefo Amoatia Oforipanyin, announced plans to review the country’s mining regulations to favour small scale miners.
Under the new law, which would recognise small scale mining in addition to medium and large scale mining, concessions would be allocated to youth co-operatives in mining areas to engage in controlled small scale mining.
Per the arrangement, the small scale miners would be required to level and reclaim the land by using part of their saved proceeds to hire machinery for the reclamation exercise.
“The youth of this area will greatly benefit from this initiative,” he said, adding that the Minerals Commission would soon invite the operators to a national conference on the new policy.
After the rally, President Mahama inaugurated newly constructed roads in the Kyebi township.
From Kyebi the President moved to Nsawam where he addressed a mammoth rally attended by hundreds of supporters.
He inspected the newly constructed Nsawam-Aburi by-pass, during which he interacted with students of the Adobe Senior High School.
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