Winneba, in the Effutu Constituency of the Central Region will from September 29 to the first week of October, host the High Level Interactive Seminar and the Extraordinary Session of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament.
This will be the second time Winneba is playing host to the ECOWAS Parliament Extra Ordinary meetings.
The Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who serves as Leader of Ghana’s Delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament, has confirmed this and given assurances that requisite arrangement for the event has been finalized.
The opening ceremony, to be held at the Jophus Anamuah-Mensah Conference Centre on September 29, would have President Nana Akufo-Addo as the Special Guest of Honour and he would declare the Seminar officially opened after his keynote address.
The seminar would be attended by all the Members (MPs) of the ECOWAS Parliament, officials of the ECOWAS Commission as well as other key stakeholders to discuss the theme: “The Challenges of Tenure Elongation and Unconstitutional Regime Change in West Africa – The Critical Role of the ECOWAS Parliament.”
Holding the high level international conferences in Winneba, a town some sixty five kilometers on the outskirts of Accra is praiseworthy given that such important large gatherings are almost always held in the Capital cities of host countries where adequate facilities tend to readily available.
“There are enough facilities to host them and like I did indicate, we hope to make it a pleasurable time, profitable time for all; we encourage all of you to come and take part in the programme,” Afenyo-Markin assured.
Afenyo-Markin, also the Deputy Majority Leader in Parliament, told journalists that such international prorgrammes created opportunities for growth, development and tourism; and Winneba being the capital of one of the municipalities in the Central Region would welcome the ECOWAS delegation.
He said, “we cannot always over-concentrate in the capital cities, we need to move out and spread opportunity to the people.”
He continued: “we cannot always over concentrate in the capital cities; we need to move out and spread opportunity to the people…We are optimistic that this will be better than before. The Ghanaian Government will put in place the necessary protocols for all MPs, focal persons and staffs, security arrangements would be in place, Winneba which is the capital of my constituency is just an hour drive from Accra on a good road.”
Effutu prepared
The Effutu Constituency is geared up for the visiting guests and their arrival has become the talk of town, sparking some excitement across board.
The general talk is that never before has Effutu had such number of high profile persons in international repute coming into the area to stay for almost a week and apart from the meeting, see the Efutu town and the culture and traditions of its people.
Winneba is rising
“Winneba is an amazing coastal city with a rich history and remarkable culture,” says Afenyo-Markin, who recently returned from Abuja after taking part in the proceedings of the ECOWAS Parliament. “Since I became the MP of Effutu, we have been working so hard to fully develop Winneba’s true potential as both a business hub, tourist destination and land of endless opportunities for all citizens who dare to dream.”
“We have already made significant progress in many areas,” he adds.
“We are strategically improving the livelihoods of the people through calculated investments in very critical areas. I am talking about education, small scale industries, housing, access to health, and hospitality. The result is that modern education facilities are coming to Effutu, modern homes and residential facilities are being built, and sustainable jobs are being created and more.”
“The ultimate dream is to develop Effutu in general to such a level as to make it an attractive destination of choice for major local and international businesses, events and conferences. Therefore, the decision by the ECOWAS Parliament to have Winneba host ECOWAS MPs for the meetings could not have come at a more opportune time.”
“ECOWAS Parliament is ready to move to Winneba for the second time. The first time we came, my colleagues of the Parliament have been putting pressure on me for the past six months for them to go back to Winneba, and the kind of hospitality that we got from the Ghanaian government, especially through Alexander Afenyo-Markin, we are very pleased to be back” Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament Sidie Mohammed Tunis had confirmed.
