Minister of State at the Office of the President, Ms Elizabeth Ohene has appealed to people in the Volta Region to be assertive and collectively market the positive values of the region for socio-economic development. She said this was the only way they could improve on the living standards of the people. Ms Ohene made the call when addressing the first anniversary celebration of Volta Foundation, an NGO established to accelerate development in the Volta Region at Hohoe. The "Volta Messenger" an 80-page magazine on socio-economic developments in the region was also launched. Ms Ohene urged the people to collectively work towards improvement in their living standards adding "We are great people, let us concentrate on areas where we have comparative advantage and be ready to learn from others to gain self-sufficiency and economic power within the shortest possible time." She expressed concern about the falling standards of education despite the many trained teachers from the region. Ms Ohene called on stakeholders including chiefs and the District Assemblies to collaborate towards reducing the incidence of bushfire in the region this year. She appealed to the people to support the vision of the Foundation towards development in the region. Mr Raymond Okudzeto, President of the Foundation entreated the citizens to rise above partisan politics, and forge ahead in unity towards achieving self-reliance and noted that in spite of the numerous human and natural resources, the region was still under-developed. Mr Okudzeto said the time to act was now and urged all and sundry to support the Foundation. Source: GNA