The Western Regional Minister, Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, has called for a non-partisan socio-economic think tank to take up development challenges of the region. He said the region with vast natural resources had seen very little development and such an independent think tank could help overcome the challenges facing the region. He mentioned some of the resources as gold, cocoa, timber, ore, limestone, silica, iron, solar salt, glass sands, clays and the newly discovered oil and gas. The regional minister said if the region and any other part of the country would progress there was the need for unity of purpose devoid of partisan political consideration. He said that the region needed to speak with one voice in order to make progress. At the meet the press series in Takoradi, the minister said the region had most of the bad roads in the country. He said the total length of roads in the region was estimated at 1,430km and that only about 20 per cent was in good condition, 34 per cent in fair condition and 46 per cent in very poor condition. The minister said there was still much work to be done to open up the region to link up with other regions. This he said was necessary to enhance easy movement of goods and services across the country. He observed that transporting goods during the rainy season was very difficult and this impacted negatively on the living conditions of farmers at the local level and the national economy. "If the goods or foodstuff" is transported with less difficulty, the prices would come down." In order to improve the conditions, he said the Ghana Highway Authority had executed some projects including the upgrading of the Telekubokazo-Aniben Junction, sectional gravelling of Daboase-Osenegya road and Sefwi-Wiawso-Akontonbra roads. He said the construction of critical culverts on Prestea-Samreboi and Aboni-Samaraboi roads were progressing well. In the first quarter of this year, the minister said, there had been improvement on the 30km Prestea-Samreboi road and the construction of the 30km Enchi-Dadieso road. He said the rehabilitation of Tarkwa­Bogoso-Ayanfuri roads covering about 94.4km which served as one of the very important roads in: the region was at the procurement stage and there would also be the rehabilitation of 110km Apima-Elubo roads. Source: Daily Graphic