The 2021 Budget Statement is very likely to start a renewed debate over the location of the proposed aerodrome for the Upper East Region.
For some time residents and traditional leaders of some zones of the Upper East Region, have been in the news wanting the Upper East Airport to be situated in their locality.
The people in the Central Zone of the region, being the BONABOTO Area (Bolgatanga, Nabdam, Bongo, and Tongo) have been asking that government should continue with works done at the proposed site at Sumbrungu. There was also an issue of starting some work at Sirigu.
When these two communities in the central zone of the region were almost agreeing to allow the government to choose between Sumbrungu and Sirigu for the airport, a group from the Kassena-Nankana Area also came up strongly, demanding that the airport should be sited in their area.
Their demand followed claims by the former Aviation Minister, Joseph Kofi Adda that some work had been done on an airstrip site at the Navrongo area and will therefore be prudent if the government invested in that area to get the Upper East Region an airport.
Before the Budget statement reading, people from the two areas were eagerly waiting to hear from the government as to where the airport will be located.
On Friday, March 12, the caretaker Finance Minister and majority leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei Mensah while reading the Budgets statement in parliament disclosed that the government is committed to investing in aerodromes in some regions and in the Upper East region that project will be constructed between Paga and Navrongo.
This announcement in the coming days, will open another round of heated discussions and press conferences especially in the BONABOTO area, and may cause the government to halt any plans to invest in an airport or aerodrome in the Upper East Region, if there happens to be agitation.
Source: a1radioonline.com | 101.1MHz | Ghana
