Organiser of the Volta Economic Forum for MMDCEs, Francis Senyanu Dokutse, has assured preparedness of the region’s leaders for the government’s 24-Hour Economy Policy, which he said the region will play a key part in its implementation.
According to Mr. Dokutse, the recent retreat at Eli Beach Resort (Tegbi) was to prepare the MMDCEs for the main forum. The theme for the pre-forum retreat was “Harnessing the Volta Economic Corridor potentials for the 24-Hour Economy Policy take-off.” The main forum will be held at the Reddington Beach Resort (Angloga) on October 31, 2025, he added.
The retreat is purposed to equip the MMDCEs with the right skills to promote local opportunities and attract sustainable investments in their districts as the 24-Hour Economy program begins. The retreat gathered many government officials and key industry players.
The purpose of the forum is to unveil investment opportunities in agro-processing, infrastructure, and youth and women empowerment, to leverage the Volta Economic Corridor for national economic development.
“The Volta Corridor is a spatial-industrial development plan to transforms the Volta River Basin into a logistics and production backbone. It will anchor agro-ecological parks, industrial hubs, and inland water transport systems to enable low-cost north-south integration. The corridor enhances rural-urban connectivity and positions Ghana as a regional production and trade hub.”
24-Hour Economy Policy program for the Volta Region
Sylvester Adinam Mensah, CEO of Ghana EXIM Bank, at the retreat also added that the focus is to speedup export through increased production of rice and other grains while adding value for local consumption as well as for export. He added that the ultimate goal is to ensure food security and employment for the people of the Volta Region.
“Our main task is to accelerate export in order to generate enough foreign exchange. But critically, we are interested in value addition and supporting agro-processing and import substitution. We are translating this [agenda] into the Volta Economic landscape. We are looking at supporting rice production and other grains, and processing some of these to add value for local consumption and exporting the excess.
“Exim Bank is doing this within the context of government’s reset agenda and also within the context of the 24-Hour Economy Policy. The idea is to ensure food security while generating employment for the masses.”
Sylvester Adinam Mensah, CEO of Ghana Export-Import Bank (GEXIM)
According to Dr. Elikplim Kwabla Apetorgbor, Commissioner and Volta Regional Representative for the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), the architects of the program aimed beyond just attracting business but to also ensure that political leaders are equipped with business and investor management skills,
Volta region to Kick-start 24-Hour Policy
In September this year, the Volta Regional Minister, Hon. James Gunu, met with heads of government departments and agencies to deliberate on the 24-hour economy flagship program.
At the meeting, Mr. Augustus Awity, Chief Director of VRCC underscored President Mahama’s commitment to create employment and that “the meeting marked the official kick-start of the program in the Volta Region.”
Hon. Gunu “tasked stakeholders to develop blueprints for the program’s rollout, ensuring Volta becomes a model for other Regions.” He reiterated his “commitment to making Volta a leader in the 24-hour economy, ensuring economic growth, job creation, and enhanced service delivery for the people.”
During the official launch of the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Program in July, President Mahama explained that “while the 24-Hour plus program is national in scope, our flagship intervention is the Volta Economic Corridor, a transformational effort to unlock the economic and environmental potential of the Volta lake and its surrounding lands.”
According to the president, just like Dr. Kwame Nkrumah envisaged the Volta project at Akosombo beyond electricity generation to encompass agribusiness and lands for agriculture and irrigation, the Volta Economic Corridor is to recreate that vision.
Under connect 24, President Mahama plans to promote irrigation; agro-industrial parks for textile, pharmaceutical, and food processing; tourism clusters along the Volta lake; and turn the Volta lake into central transport corridor that connects to all the cardinal points of the country.
Francis Senyanu Dokutse, who is a prominent business tycoon and key figure in the National Democratic Congress (NDC), saw the need to prepare the MMDCEs for all these opportunities coming to the Volta region.
He is confident that this skill acquisition process will launch the beginning of a new chapter for the people of Volta Region: political leaders making informed decisions while the people benefit through employment opportunities.
With this full-fledged development, the region could contribute immensely to the macroeconomic growth the country is experiencing.
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