Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the Running-Mate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), says a Bawumia-led Administration will make Larabanga the number one tourist destination in the country to create jobs for the youth in the area.

Larabanga hosts the oldest ancient mosque in the country referred to as the “Mecca” of West Africa and home to the “Mystic Stone”.

The Mole National Park and Damongo Forest Reserve are also located in the enclave, hosting several animal and bird species.

The World Monuments Fund, in the past, contributed substantially to the restoration of the Larabanga Mosque and listed it as one of the most endangered sites in West Africa.

The ancient mosque was designed with Sudanese architectural designs in 1421 and it is one of the renowned tourist destinations in the country.

Dr Opoku Prempeh, while speaking at a well-attended rally at Larabanga in the Damongo constituency of the Savannah Region on Thursday, urged the residents of the town to retain Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor as their Member of Parliament in the December 7 Election to bring more development to the area.

He cited Athens in Greece and Rome in Italy as two cities with ancient buildings and yet, tourists troop to those places just to watch the architectural designs of the buildings, earning them millions of dollars.

The NPP Running-Mate described Larabanga as the “Jewel” in the Region with the potential of earning the country foreign exchange from regular tourist visits.

He assured the constituents that a Bawumia-led government and with Samuel Abu Jinapor as their MP would put measures in place to realise the vision of making the town preferred tourist destination in Ghana.

Dr Opoku Prempeh highlighted some of the good policies and programmes the NPP government had implemented in the Region, including classroom blocks, roads, water systems, and regional coordinating administrative block.

He said the Agenda 111 hospitals being constructed by the government would employ 72, 000 nurses and other health personnel when completed, and entreated the electorate to retain the NPP in government on December 7.

Dr Opoku-Prempeh also touched on the benefit the Free Senior High School (FSHS) and TVET policy had brought to the citizens, including lessening the financial burden on parents, ensuring gender parity among boys and girls at the secondary education level, with 5.7 million students benefiting so far.

“…NDC is only interested in your votes, not your welfare…Let’s reject them,” Dr Opoku-Prempeh said, amid shouts and cheers from the enthusiastic NPP supporters.

He indicated that it was under the erstwhile NDC administration that Arabic teachers’ allowance was cancelled and that it took the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia-led government to restore it.

Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, the incumbent Member of Parliament for Damongo, said the NPP was working tirelessly to make the constituency the Party’s stronghold.

He was hopeful that the electorate would show appreciation to the NPP government in the December 7 polls for the various projects and interventions implemented in the area.

Earlier, Dr Opoku Prempeh and his entourage paid a courtesy call to the Overlord of Gonjaland, Yagbonwura Bii-Kunuto Jewu Soale I at his palace in Damongo.