British High Commissioner on a day's visit Volta region

Regional minister in a handshake with Jon Benjamin

The British High commissioner to Ghana, Mr. Jon Benjamin has on Monday embarked  a one day working visit to the volta region.

Mr. Benjamin upon arrival , paid a courtesy call of the volta regional minister, Helen Ntoso and her deputy Francis Ganyaglo at the Volta regional coordinating council in Ho.

According to him, the visit is to afford him the opportunity to familiarize with other parts the country beyond the national capital Accra.

‘As a High commissioner,  I   see it necessary to travel out of the Accra to other parts of the country, just to see things for myself. There is a historic British involvement in the volta region and my visit here is to strength that relationship,’ Mr. Benjamin, who is also the British ambassador to Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso,  noted.

Mr. Benjamin in a pose with Hon. Ntoso & Ganayaglo

He said currently, the UK government through the Department of International Development (DFID) is funding a nationwide project dubbed ‘ENGINE’  a multi-year competitive venture project, aimed at equipping Micro and Small scale business with the need skills and resources to enhance their operations and urged businesses in the region to take advantage of the project.

Touching on the November, 7 general elections, the British diplomat expressed UK government’s readiness to provide technical and logistical support to the Electoral Commission of Ghana and other allied agencies to ensure transparent  and peaceful election.

‘Our only interest is for the election to be peaceful and credible, so we will work with the electoral commission with other donor partners, and that is to do with logistics and administration of the election. So we are waiting for what request the EC will make from us.’

Mr. Benjamin who earlier paid a courtesy call on the paramount chief of the Asogli traditional area, Togbe Afede XIV, was scheduled to hold separate meetings with leadership of the various political parties  as well as the security chiefs in the region.

The  Volta Regional Minister, Helen Ntoso on here part thanked the high Commission  for their continuous support to the development of the country and the region  at large. She however appealed to High commission  to assist  the region in harnessing  some of its natural resources such as the volta Lake to create jobs for  the teeming youth through  into irrigation and fish farming.