{"id":99387,"date":"2025-10-20T08:54:58","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T08:54:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=99387"},"modified":"2025-10-20T08:54:58","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T08:54:58","slug":"ghanas-growth-is-trapped-in-accra-kwasi-kwarteng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=99387","title":{"rendered":"Ghana\u2019s growth is trapped in Accra \u2014 Kwasi Kwarteng"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>2 Minute, 41 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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Lawyer and spokesperson for NPP flagbearer aspirant Kennedy Agyapong, Kwasi Kwarteng, says Ghana\u2019s development is overly concentrated in Accra\u2014a situation he believes has stifled growth in other parts of the country.<\/p>\n

His comment follows Mr. Agyapong\u2019s proposal to relocate some key ministries to other regions if elected president, as part of efforts to promote balanced national development.<\/p>\n

Speaking on JoyNews\u2019 AM Show on Monday, October 20, Mr. Kwarteng said the current development structure leaves most regional capitals underdeveloped and economically inactive.<\/p>\n

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\u201cTo be very honest, Ghana\u2019s development is currently trapped in Accra, and if you go to most of the other regional capitals, they\u2019re either underdeveloped or economically inactive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor instance, when you visit regional capitals like Wa, Bolgatanga, Damango, Techiman, and Koforidua, it\u2019s almost like a ghost town or ghost cities. It\u2019s almost silent\u2014no economic activity going on during the day, literally\u2014and there is little economic activity and few corporate jobs. Very often, you will realise that some of the commercial jobs are also not there,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Mr. Kwarteng explained that both he and Mr. Agyapong believe this concentration of economic activity in one city does not support inclusive growth.<\/p>\n

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\u201cFor me and Ken Agyapong, as a person, we are of the view that this is not how a country grows. Ken Agyapong is therefore proposing a bold reset to take government\u2014and, of course, we all agree that we need a reset,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He said the idea is to move governance closer to the people by decentralising ministries and key agencies to regions where their functions align with local strengths and resources.<\/p>\n

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\u201cInstead of running Ghana from one overcrowded point, the city of Accra with high traffic, high rent, floods, and rising youth unemployment, while other towns remain undeveloped, Kennedy plans to relocate key ministries and agencies to some of these regions,\u201d Mr. Kwarteng explained.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Citing examples, he said the Fisheries Ministry could be situated in the Central Region, while the Ministry of Food and Agriculture could be based in the northern regions where arable lands are available. <\/p>\n

The Western Region, which hosts Ghana\u2019s oil fields, could also house the Energy Ministry, he suggested.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe are of the view that when ministries move, money, jobs, and decisions also move. And relocation creates a new ecosystem where you have contractors, hotels, schools, local industries, and this whole chain reaction for regional growth,\u201d he emphasised.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Mr. Kwarteng insisted that the proposal goes beyond politics, describing it as an economic strategy aimed at spreading opportunities and alleviating poverty across all regions.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhat we are saying is not just about new offices; it\u2019s about economics. It\u2019s not the usual politics, but it\u2019s about making every region also matter again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He added that the initiative would also promote interregional trade, tourism, and investment\u2014leading to a more balanced and inclusive economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are able to intertrade, boost tourism, and people will naturally move and travel from one region to another, invest in them, and ensure there is balanced development across all regions. Opportunity will spread, and we will be able to alleviate poverty and move our nation forward,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Ghana\u2019sLawyer and spokesperson for NPP flagbearer aspirant Kennedy Agyapong, Kwasi Kwarteng, says Ghana\u2019s development is overly concentrated in Accra\u2014a situation he believes has stifled growth in other parts of the country.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2246,536,1969,5115,1883,117,10,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-accra","category-ghana","category-hp-news-3","category-kwasi-kwarteng","category-national","category-news","category-politics","category-popular"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=99387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99387\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=99387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=99387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=99387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}