Govt Will Restore Prestea � Ministers

The government has pledged to restore Prestea to its status as a vibrant mining town. It said there were plans to reactivate the Prestea underground mine, while infrastructure in the town would also be improved. The ministers of Roads and Highways and Natural Resources, Lands and Forestry, Alhaji Amin Amidu Sulemani and Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, respectively, made the pledge during a visit to Prestea last Wednesday. The visit by the two ministers followed a massive demonstration against the deplorable state of the town and worsening economic conditions there. Roads ministry Alhaji Sulemani indicated that the poor road condition was not peculiar to the Western Region or Prestea alone but cut across the country. �We will reach every part of the country, but we need time,� he stated. �Nobody will abandon the people of Prestea and the Western Region as far as road construction is concerned,� he said. Alhaji Fuseini, for his part, said it was part of the government�s agenda to make the underground mine meaningful to the people of Prestea. He said much was being done on the quiet to make the reactivation of the underground mine, described as the heartbeat of Prestea, a reality. Nana Nteboah Pra wants action now The chief of Prestea, Nana Nteboah Pra IV, called for the reactivation of the underground mine to generate more employment for the teeming youth of Prestea. According to him, the mine used to employ about 4,000 workers in the past, �but today only about 300 people work there�. He said the immediate reactivation of the mine would significantly reduce illegal mining (also known as galamsey) and set the community on the path of socio-economic growth.