The people of Shama, a fishing community in Western Region, has held a stakeholders meeting at Aboadze to map out strategies to harness the rich resources of the area for development.

Addressing a public –private- partnership meeting spearheaded by Shama District Assembly, Mr Enoch Kojo Appiah, District Chief Executive (DCE) said the aim is to diversify the economic livelihood of the people.

According to him, this is achievable through the active involvement of the private sector for the transformation of the economy of the district.

He said the district has positioned itself for accelerated growth and mentioned available opportunities such as a 3,825 acre free zone enclave, space for Inland port, an area for real estate development, and the beaches for the tourism sector, and land for agro processing.

He said such projects should be transacted in conformity with a spatial development plan, to avoid turning the area into a slump.

Mr. Gabriel Essilfie, Member of Parliament for the area, hinted that “Black IVY," a US construction company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Free Zone Board to establish an Industrial Park in the district.

He urged the people to keep a clean environment to attract investors to the area.

Captain James Owusu-Koranteng, Director of the Takoradi Port appealed to the district assembly to involve the traditional authorities in the allocation of land for development projects to avoid litigation, when such projects get to the advance stage as it frustrates business transaction.

The chiefs at the meeting said they are not happy that they are often ignored in the allocation of land for development and asked for the reverse of the practice.

The stakeholder meeting was attended by the traditional authorities, representatives of business entities such as Tullow Ghana Limited, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, and Ghana Police Service.