President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will, from Monday, 18 October 2021, begin a two-day tour of the Central Region, as part of his annual working visits to the 16 regions of the country.

President Akufo-Addo’s itinerary will involve the opening and inspection of projects under the government’s 1-District-1-Factory initiative in furtherance of his industrialsation agenda, as well as the inspection of ongoing road projects in the Region.

He will also visit and interact with traditional authorities in the respective communities he will visit.

On Monday, the President is expected to inspect engineering laboratories and workshops constructed by the Ministry of Education and the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training, located at the Cape Coast Technical University; and will proceed to pay a courtesy call on Chiefs of the Oguaa Traditional Area.

He will also call on the Chiefs of Assin North in Assin Breku and Effutuakwa in Assin Fosu; cut the sod for the construction of the Assin Praso-Assin Fosu road project in the Assin Central Constituency; and also cut the sod for the construction of the Nyankomasi Ahenkro to Assin Jakai Cocoa Road.

On Tuesday, President Akufo-Addo’s working visit will see him paying a courtesy call on the Chiefs of Hemang Lower Denkyira; cutting the sod cutting for the construction of the Hemang-Nsutem Cocoa Road, as well as commissioning Central Oil Mills, a company operating under Government’s 1-District-1-Factory initiative, located in Assin Jukwa.

In Winneba, in the Effutu Constituency, the President will commission a number of projects including a community centre, health facility, a library, and the Museum of Effutu Culture.

The tour will end with the commissioning of a lubricant factory, also under the 1D1F initiative, at Gomoa Akotsi Fetteh Junction in the Gomoa East constituency.

The president's tour to the region come a few days after former president John Mahama also toured that part of the country as part of his Thank You tour.

During that tour, Mr Mahama re-stated his opposition to plans by the Akufo-Addo government to re-introduce the Agyapa deal.

The 2020 flag bearer of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), said the deal will be bad for the youth because it will mean “mortgaging the future of the youth”.

According to the former president, the Agyapa deal is outright inconsiderate because it is a plan to mortgage the future of the country and Ghana's youth to fund President Nana Akufo-Addo’s present-day desires.

Mr Mahama told Cape 93.3FM in a recent interview during his Thank You tour of the Central Region that: "They [Akufo-Addo government] are mortgaging Ghana for everything”.

“They have sold everything for loans; now, they don't have anything to sell any more”, so, “it is our gold that is left; that is the Agyapa they want to do”.

"Because they see that they've sold the utensils, they've sold the chairs in the hall, the bed in the bedroom has been sold, now they are looking for the next item to sell”.

“They have settled on the windows to sell. That is our gold, which they want to sell this time. They want to use that to go and collect over one billion dollars", Mr Mahama added.

He said the government has always received a 10% stake as gold royalties, which the Akufo-Addo government is bent on mortgaging for loans to spend today.

The former president singled out the President's cousin, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, who is also the Minister of Finance, and accused him of being a happy participant in the “abuse” of the country’s mineral resources because his company always gets a percentage from the loans raised.

In Mr Mahama’s view, this government has benefited and accrued the most revenue from Ghana’s resources but there is nothing to show for it in terms of the development and the living standards of the people.

He observed that President Akufo-Addo, through his cousin, has mortgaged the Energy Sector Levy and the GETFund for many years, which he says imposes the burden of payment on the youth, who would be paying the debts for many more years to come. 

"Even though the ESLA bond we brought was supposed to be for five years, today the last ESLA bond they did they have extended it to between 20 and 30 years”.

“It means our children and our grandchildren will continue paying the loan until beyond 2030”, he explained.

“GETFund has been mortgaged for the next 15 years. This means all contributions we pay for GetFUND will only go toward paying the loan and not for anything else", he disclosed.

"Our children will pay and pay and pay but won't be able to finish paying. Our grandchildren will take over from them and continue paying the debts", he added.

Mr Mahama, therefore, warned: "If we don't halt this trend the government appears set on, it will get to a point where we can no longer pay our debts."