The Member of Parliament for Ho West, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, has renewed his drive to transform the Volta Region into a hub for information and communication technology (ICT), equipping young people with the skills to thrive in the digital age.
Speaking at the 2025 Ho West Annual Tech Fair hosted by Awudome Senior High School in Tsito, Mr Bedzrah said the initiative is designed to tackle youth unemployment while positioning the Volta Region as a centre for digital outsourcing in West Africa.
“The vision is to make Ho West, and by extension the Volta Region, into a real ICT hub where multinational companies outsource jobs for the youth to sit at home and work for good money. I have a very good feeling this is achievable,” he said.
This year’s fair brought together 200 students and teachers drawn from all 18 constituencies in the Volta Region. Participants will receive two weeks of hands-on training in areas such as drone piloting and mapping, 3D modelling and printing, coding, virtual reality, website development, and entrepreneurship.
The Ho West MP said over 500 applications were received for the program, but limited resources allowed only 200 slots. He assured that an online training platform is being developed to expand access, with weekend and vacation programs also in the pipeline.
“I have already benefited from the 3D printing, and so job creation has started from today,” he remarked, adding that the Ho West District Assembly has expressed interest in engaging participants for mapping projects to support property rate collection.
Mr Bedzrah praised the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) for its partnership in running the program and announced that 100 laptops had been procured to ensure practical, hands-on training.
The leader of the KNUST team, Makafui Bedzrah, highlighted the innovative tools being introduced, including a custom-built drone capable of flying 120 meters for land mapping. He underscored the program’s focus on transforming training into real digital job creation.
The initiative drew praise from other leaders, including Ho Central MP Edem Kofi Kpotosu, who urged participants to embrace artificial intelligence and use it in daily life, and Ho West District Chief Executive Francis Profer Dusey, who said the project aligns with the government’s target of training one million youth in coding.
For Mr Bedzrah, the project is about more than technology — it is about giving young people the skills to shape their future.
“The ultimate objective is to empower young people with the relevant technological skills for 21st-century jobs,” he said.
