The meetings are designed to harness the participants’ experienc­es, exchange ideas, and collaborate effectively with the ORCC, thereby enabling them to make significant contributions to the region’s devel­opment.

The stakeholders consisted of former Municipal and District Chief Executives (MDCEs) from both the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Pa­triotic Party (NPP), encompassing the years surrounding 2001, both prior to and following the estab­lishment of the Oti region.

Their extensive experiences during their tenures were intended to contribute significantly to the region’s development.

Speaking at the meeting, the Oti Regional Minister, Mr John Kwad­wo Gyapong, said the stakeholder gathering would provide him with the opportunity to gain insights from the experiences of previous Municipal, District, and Chief Executives (MDCEs).

He emphasised the importance of recognising both challenges and opportunities in order to leverage them for the necessary develop­ment aimed at enhancing the living conditions of the community.

Mr Gyapong again stressed that the development of the Oti Region called for unity and peace which he said were prerequisites for growth, saying the development efforts of the region should be devoid of partisan politics and called on all stakeholders to contribute mean­ingfully to the progress of the region.

The Regional Minister com­mended the former MDCEs for their willingness to support the de­velopment activities of the region, and called on other development partners to help bring the needed development to the region.

A former District Chief Exec­utive for Krachi West, Mr Moses Kwame Ponyeh, lauded what he described as an all-inclusive administration adopted by the Oti Regional Minister, and urged him not to relent in his efforts, since the move would definitely yield positive results for growth.

Mr Ponyeh said development should be regarded as a collective responsibility of all, irrespective of political affiliation to ensure that relevant development needs would be provided for the people.

The former District Chief Ex­ecutive (DCE) stated that the lack of a bridge over the Oti River, along with insufficient agricultural practices such as irrigation, has hindered development over the years.

He noted that the current sce­nario, where vehicles transporting agricultural products from the northern regions of the country and Burkina Faso must wait for hours at the Oti River bank for a pontoon to ferry them across, is detrimental to economic activities.

Mr Ponyeeh explained that the absence of effective transport system in the region continued to militate against the progress of the region, and would definitely affect government’s 24hour economy when implemented and appealed to the government to build a bridge at Dambai as a legacy project of the Mahama-led NDC government.