The Executive President for center for social impact studies, Richard Elimah has described the western region as the richest in terms of natural resources but the poorest in terms of development.
According to him, the region is the richest in Ghana in terms of resources such as gold,bauxite,manganese and the latest being oil.
He noted that the western region has also been the biggest contributor to the country’s cocoa output.
He said this in an interview on the royal yeresuadee morning show with Sir Richmond Antwi Boasiako.
Commenting on the just ended seminar organized by the chamber of commerce with the theme ‘‘Developing the western region as a growth pole for Ghana’s economic development’’,Richard Elimah stated that the region has a lot of wealth which can help in the development of the country when properly harnessed.
He believes proper exploitation of minerals like limestone, which occurs in abundance in the region, can lead to lower rent charges in the long run.
He noted that a lot of production goes on in the region but the monies accrued is sent outside the region. This he noted has brought a lot of repercussions on the region such as poor road networks and pressure on the regions social amenities.
Richard Elimah stated that this situation has resulted in capital flight.The various district assemblies have been ripped off the financial backing for the development of their various jurisdictions.
