President Akufo-Addo addressing a delegation from the Ada Traditional Council at a meeting at the Jubilee House.
The chiefs and people of Ada have made a passionate appeal to President Akufo-Addo to help revive the salt industry in the area which is collapsing.
The Paramount Chief of the Ada Traditional Council, Abram Kabu Akuaku III, made the appeal when he and some prominent people from the Ada Traditional Council paid a courtesy call on President Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House yesterday.
Ada is well noted for its salt production in the country.
He revealed that Ghana has the capacity to produce 2.2 million metric tonnes of salt; however, the country is only able to produce about 250,000 metric tonnes, representing a woeful 11.4 per cent.
“It is for this reason the four landowners of the Ada Traditional Area have come together, and we say we are ready. Notwithstanding all the impediments and problems that have militated against this take-off, we are ready to let this one come into fruition,” Abram Akuaku III stressed.
“The people of Ada will forever remember you that you are the single person who, during your tenure, has been able to bring salt production to its maximum,” he added.
President Akufo-Addo wondered why little has been done to develop the salt industry at Ada over the years in spite of its rich natural resource. “I think the time has come for all of us to put our heads together and find a way forward,” he emphasized.
“It will bring a lot of benefits to the country in terms of the contribution it will make to the petrochemical industry. As you all know, salt is a crucial ingredient in all the petrochemical products that we are hoping now to develop out of our oil fields,” the President said.
He expressed delight in the fact that the chiefs were equally concerned with the issue of protecting the various islands at Ada, pledging to bring it to the attention of the relevant authorities, especially the Ministry of Works and Housing, in order to get it addressed.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent