TAMALE'S POTENTIALS NOT FULLY TAPPED (PAGE 23, OCT 4, 2010)

THE investment potentials of the Tamale Metropolis are enormous. Unfortunately, these potentials have not been fully tapped for the accelerated development of the sprawling city and its residents.
The sunflower industry, for instance, is an export earning one that investors can take advantage of. According to experts, especially Dr. H. Schubert, a German agronomist, Soya bean can overtake cocoa in less than 10years if given the desired push.
The demand for sunflower products is high; European Union consumed over 2.1 metric tonnes in 1996 and 1997 alone.
A pilot project (farms) has been undertaken in the Metropolis and results prove that sunflower could be grown successfully and profitably in the area.
The Metropolis, together with the some peri-urban communities, produce large quantities of rice, cotton, groundnuts, shea-nuts and beans particularly, soya beans.
There are a few companies which process some of these agricultural products into finished goods for the market. However, most of these companies are distressed financially and require enormous capital to revamp their operations.
There is the potential to develop the manufacturing sector, particularly in vehicle repair, prefabrication of spare parts, cutlasses, bullock ploughs and trailers, leather works, pottery and carpentry.
These are all areas investors can explore for the mutual benefit of both residents and the investors themselves.
The phenomenal growth in population of the Metropolis has a lot of implications for real estate development. From a mere population of 40,000 in 1960, it increased to 167,778 in 1994 and it is currently about 300,000, according to the 2000 Population and Housing Census.
Even though the housing stock also increased, it did not match with the demand for housing, especially among the middle and high-income groups.
This high demand for housing emanates from the proliferation of non-governmental organisations in the Metropolis coupled with the demand from civil servants posted to the metropolis and also from the informal sector.
There is ample land which is relatively cheap and investors interested in real estate development can exploit the exciting situation to their advantage.
It has been suggested to the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TaMA) to invest in sightseeing facilities like zoological gardens, botanical gardens, museums and entertainment (theatres), shopping malls, art and craft village to give incentive to craftsmen and other small-scale operators.