THE REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT MASTER PLAN
There have been many attempts and many plans made in the past to improve the lives of the people of the West Africa Region of Togo. Sadly, each ended with very little to show for the time and resources spent. Therefore it is understandable that the people of the West Africa are quite disillusioned with ‘plans’ at this time. The disenchantment of the people not withstanding, it must be stated that the West Africa Master Plan is different in its goals, focus and approach, and will not suffer the fate of the others before it.
The Master Plan is basically conceived as a tool that the millions of people of the West Africa Region can use to actualize their common vision and build their future to the standard they desire. The Master Plan is designed to offer stakeholders at all levels (individual, group and community) the opportunity to participate fully in the planning and decision making process. . specifically, the coordinating consultants require the ideas and opinions of stakeholders as basis for defining focus areas for development and for producing a vivid picture of what the people want the West Africa Region to look like within 15 years of the master plan implementation.. This implies that the input of stakeholders today is what will determine the state of affairs (both for individuals and communities) in the region tomorrow.
The Master Plan, for which satellite mapping had been completed and the resource
consultants appointed, is expected to cover the following areas:
1. Demography
2. Environment and hydrology
3. Agriculture and aquaculture (with focus on economic activities)
4. Biodiversity
5. Transport (infrastructure)
6. Rural, urban, regional planning and housing
7. Community Development
8. Governance and capacity development
9. Health
10. Small and medium enterprises
11. Water supply
12. Energy (electricity)
13. Telecommunication
14. Vocational training (with focus on employment generation)
15. Waste management and sanitation
16. Large-scale industry
17. Solid minerals
18. Tourism
19. Social welfare
20. Arts, Sports and Culture,
21. Women and Youth employment
22. Conflict prevention
23. Financial instruments and access
24. Investment promotion