A youth group in the Volta region calling itself the Concerned Youth of Volta, has taken a swipe at the Volta Regional Minister, Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa, for his utterances on the proposed construction of a 10000-seater capacity mini-park in the Volta region in place of an ultra-modern sports stadium that was originally promised the Volta region by the NPP government.

At a press conference held Tuesday March 20, 2018, the group describes the Regional Minister’s comment to the effect that the people of the Volta region need to get serious as insulting, especially in the face of what they call legitimate demands for their fare share of the national cake.

Find below the full press statement.

PRESS STATEMENT DELIVERED BY THE CONCERNED YOUTH OF VOLTA REGION ON THE PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION OF A 5,000-10,000-SEATER CAPACITY MINI-PARK IN THE VOLTA REGION, ON TUESDAY 20 MARCH, 2018, IN THE VOLTA REGIONAL CAPITAL, HO.

Good morning, good people of Volta Region, Good morning people of the press here present. On behalf of the concerned Youth Group of Volta, I bring you greetings. We are very sad this morning and it is with grief and pain to sit here and present this.

We have learned with utter shock and dismay moves by the Akufo Addo-led NPP government to substitute the proposed ultra-modern sports stadium, promised the good people of the Volta region, for a mere Five – Ten thousand-seater (5000 – 10000) capacity mini-park!

To say that we were shocked to have woken up to this news on our stadium is an understatement. According to sources, plans are far advanced for the sod-cutting ceremony for this intended mini-park project to take place on Wednesday 21 March, 2018, here at the Volta Regional capital, Ho.

What this means is that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government intends to go back on its promise, because much as this will appear like one of the numerous developmental projects being brought to the region by the NPP government, this move, from all indications, would actually amount to nothing less than short-changing and cheating the region out of what it truly deserves.

The building of this mini-park will invariably mean denying the region the benefit of an ultra-modern sports stadium, because the former, according to sources, is meant as a substitute for the latter! Not only is this a slap in the face of the people of Volta, but one could conveniently say that this is also a show of bad faith by a government that has just recently begun to successfully court the affection and attention of the people of the region!

One topical issue that has drawn quite some agitation from sports lovers as well as all well-meaning Voltarians over the years is the issue of the development of sports in the region. When it comes to sports, Volta region is a force to reckon with in Ghana. The region has exhibited to the country some superior skills in many sporting disciplines ranging from Football, Handball, Table tennis, Badminton and volleyball etc.

However, the poor state of sports facilities in the region, as well as the lack of modern sports facilities thereof, have been a cause of worry for many.

In addition to many obvious factors, the decline of Sports in Volta region can be attributed chiefly to the lack of a proper and befitting sports stadium. Despite the good successes achieved by the Volta region, the Ho Sports Stadium remains the only facility that hosts most of the sporting activities in the region. In spite of this, the stadium has not seen any form of infrastructural development in recent years. The green grass is unkempt and provides difficulty to the footballers playing on the pitch. The fence wall of the stadium is also broken halfway posing security threat to the athletes and the spectators present. The few fans that cherish and appreciate the game and want to have a feel of it are also left at the mercy of the scorching sun.

It was therefore a huge relief for us in the region when the President of the Republic, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, and the NPP administration promised to furnish the region with a well-established big capacity sports stadium as has been built for the Western and Northern regions by the Kufuor-led NPP government, and for the Central region by the Mills-led NDC government.

Imagine our surprise and disappointment, therefore, that things are beginning to turn out this way. And to add insult to injury, our own Regional Minister, Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa, who, perhaps, should know better, could only insult the whole of Volta region as a bunch of non-serious people when called to respond to questions on the matter!

What crime have we committed as a people? How come we cannot also get our fair share of the national cake? And if our own Regional Minister can actually tell us to get serious as people, merely because we demand for a fair bite of the national cake, then we are inching dangerously closer to failed governance, and he very much doesn’t deserve to lead us in any capacity.

 

Are we saying that the Volta region can’t also have a world-class edifice like all other regions? How can he tell us that due to the poor maintenance of some of the existing national stadia, the Volta region will have to settle for a mini-park? While other regions have over 20,000 capacity edifices, our Regional Minister, who should know better, thinks we in the Volta region should settle for a 5,000-10.000 capacity mini-park because we are not yet ‘old’ enough to handle a bigger facility? It’s so sad to hear this, to say the least. We want the Regional Minister to know that we are a serious people and we also know what‘s good for us. If it must be done, then it must be done well. We need a stadium and not a community center.

 

With the minister’s notion of half a loaf is better than none, we say it’s irrelevant in this case. How can half a loaf be better than none when indeed we know we can have a full loaf? Please no, it’s a no-no-no for us.

Hon Minister, we are not happy with these moves, and we most certainly are not happy with your utterances on this issue. We want you to know that we don’t want you to hurriedly go cut sod for a mediocre project in place of what we have actually been waiting for all these years.

We are, by this medium, giving the minister a 24-hour ultimatum to respond to our request and desist halt any such planned sod-cutting ceremony.

Thank you all.

 

Signed

FOSTER OSEI PREZO

CONVENOR (CONCERNED YOUTH OF VOLTA REGION)

+233 (0)24 865 2307 / +233 (0)20 957 2028