The Coastal Development Authority Bill, 2017, comprising 32 clauses, has been read a second time on the floor of Parliament.
The Bill seeks to establish the Coastal Development Authority, to provide a framework for accelerated economic and social development of constituencies and areas in the Greater Accra, the Central, the Western and the Volta regions of Ghana.
The memorandum of the Bill stipulates that despite the country’s middle-income status resulting from the steady expansion of the economy, development of the country is increasingly becoming unequal, as the benefits of economic growth are not equally distributed across the country, while poverty remains prevalent in many areas.
It adds that even though there is a significant decline in poverty at the national level, there are wide disparities across the regions and between the urban and the rural citizenry.
It also states that in line with the government’s agenda to ensure inclusive and accelerated bottom up socio-economic development in the country, the government aims to establish the Coastal Development Authority to spearhead this agenda. The Authority, in addition to enhancing the inclusive development of the aforementioned regions, will be the primary agency for implementing the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme.
Presenting the report of the Committee on Employment, Social Welfare and State Enterprises, Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, informed the House that the establishment of the Coastal Development Authority will provide the impetus for accelerated development of the Coastal Zone.
He added that the infrastructural programmes that the Authority is expected to implement, coupled with stimulation of indigenous investments, will lead to job creation, improvements in the lives of the people and general reduction of poverty in the communities.
