The President of the Volta Region House of Chiefs, Togbe Afede XIV, has observed that even though the authority of traditional authorities in the pre-colonial era, which made them wield executive powers, have virtually been lost to the central government, even though chiefs remain vital to the development of their communities. According to him, chiefs in the Volta Region were pursuing various development agenda that would help enhance the living standards of the people, and gave the assurance that the chiefs would effectively partner the government in efforts being made to ensure accelerated growth in the region in particular, and the country in general. The President of the Regional House of Chiefs, who made the observation at a durbar organised by his outfit to honour the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Mr. Gong Jianzhong, at a ceremony in Ho recently, invited the Chinese government to take advantage of the numerous investment potential that abounds in the region. Togbe Afede stressed that investors could reliably explore areas such as tourism, in which, he said, the region had a comparative advantage than other regions, fertile agriculture land, mineral exploitation like gold, diamond, copper, oil and gas for the development of the people in the region and the nation in general. He commended the Chinese government for its continued assistance to Ghana in the areas of infrastructure development, technical cooperation, financial support, health, commerce and agriculture among others, that had promoted the development of the country, noting that the honour was to draw the attention of the Ambassador to the existing opportunities in the region,for the Chinese government to take advantage of them for massive investment. "Chinese investments in Ghana have been on the increase, and so has trade between the two countries. China-Ghana bilateral trade exceeded $1.6 billion in 2009. Togbe Afede said the people of the Volta Region were proverbially, "thirsty, while standing in the middle of the river," a development, he pointed out, which motivated the Regional House of Chiefs to launch a five-year development plan in 2010, to contribute towards the laying of the appropriate socio-economic infrastructure to facilitate the development of the region. He urged the Chinese government and the people of China to take advantage of the favourable investment environment, the promising natural resource sector, and improved infrastructure network in the country, to venture into the numerous investment opportunities in the Volta Region. Togbe Afede mentioned the establishment of a university, construction of an airport in Ho, the development of a sea port at Keta, and the expansion of social and economic infrastructure, especially, in the northern part of the Volta Region as some of the viable investments that the Chinese government could profitably embark upon in the region. He called on the Chinese Ambassador to facilitate the establishment of sound sister-relations between the Volta Region in Ghana and one of the provinces in China, to ensure the quick execution of development projects in the region, and other exchange programmes like culture, which would be mutually beneficial to both nations. Mr. Gong Jianzhong, who expressed appreciation to the Chiefs for the honour done him, recounted the long existing relations between the two countries. Mr. Jianzhong said he, his wife, as well as the staff in Ghana, were overwhelmed by the hospitality demonstrated by the chiefs and people of the Volta Region, which confirmed the basic fact that the citizens of both countries considered each other as brothers and sisters, and said the honour done him was an honour done to all citizens of China. The Chinese Ambassador stressed that the peaceful nature of the Volta Region was enough for any investor to explore and invest in the numerous investment opportunities in the region, and assured the chiefs and people that efforts would be made by his government to see possible areas for investment in the region. The Volta Regional House of Chiefs later presented a parcel to the Ambassador, while the Ho Municipal Assembly and the Asogli Traditional Council also made various presentations to him. Source: Chronicle