Western Regional Minister calls for stronger partnerships to drive sustainable development and jobs in Region

Western Regional Minister Joseph Nelson has been advocating for stronger collaborations among various stakeholders, including government, traditional authorities, the private sector, financial institutions, and development partners, to spur sustainable development and generate employment opportunities in the Western region. He emphasized that no single entity can effectively tackle the region's developmental challenges when working in isolation, hence the necessity for strategic partnerships.

Speaking at the 2026 Axim Kundum Festival, Nelson described the theme of the festival as timely and strategic. He encouraged stakeholders to move beyond cultural celebrations and focus on transforming the region's resources, institutions, and relationships into sustainable economic opportunities, especially for the youth. The minister highlighted the Western Region's abundant natural resources like agricultural lands, forests, minerals, and oil and gas, emphasizing the need to convert these resources into tangible benefits for residents.

He stressed the importance of a development model that encourages local value addition, preventing local communities from merely producing raw materials while wealth is generated elsewhere.

Nelson urged stakeholders to develop partnerships that facilitate the processing, packaging, branding, and marketing of agricultural products produced by local communities. In the mining and extractive sectors, he called for increased local participation, including employment, skills development, enterprise opportunities, and responsible corporate citizenship.

For the tourism sector, he advocated that local businesses should benefit significantly from the tourism value chain, including transport operators, tour guides, restaurants, artisans, farmers, and accommodation providers.

The minister placed great emphasis on youth employment, urging partnerships to offer young people relevant technical and vocational skills, entrepreneurship training, access to finance, mentorship, and markets. He also appealed to businesses in the Western Region to invest in initiatives that foster sustainable local enterprises and human capacity, moving beyond traditional corporate donations.

Nelson stressed the importance of peace and stability for economic development, noting that traditional authorities play a crucial role in mobilizing communities, protecting the environment, promoting education, supporting investment, and ensuring a peaceful environment for businesses to thrive. He appealed to traditional leaders to use dialogue as the first response to disputes, preventing conflicts among citizens from undermining the region's peace and development.

Nelson also advocated for the protection of the region's natural resources, calling for responsible mining, sustainable agriculture, fishing, proper waste management, and stronger environmental stewardship to safeguard forests, rivers, wetlands, and the coastline. He urged Corporate Ghana and development partners to deepen their investments in the Western Region by supporting local businesses, strengthening supply chains, developing skills, promoting technology transfer, and creating sustainable employment.

He emphasized shifting from conventional corporate social responsibility to corporate shared value, where business success directly contributes to community development. Lastly, Nelson urged all stakeholders to build partnerships that create businesses and called upon the people of Axim and the broader Nzema community to renew their commitment to peace, partnership, investment, and inclusive development during the 2026 Kundum celebration.