Against the backdrop of longstanding concerns over a dire shortage of job opportunities in hinterland communities, government has disclosed plans in the 2018 budgetary proposals for a $200 million investment in the Hinterland Green Enterprise Development Centre at Bina Hill in Region Nine which, according to Finance Minister Winston Jordan, seeks to focus on areas of training “that leverages indigenous and traditional knowledge and drives upstream demand for local products and services.”
The disclosure in Jordan’s 2018 budget presentation of what he describes as a “flagship initiative” comes against the backdrop of a growing clamour for the creation of job opportunities for residents of hinterland communities that go beyond their reliance on the production and sale of traditional craft and small scale agriculture.
The curriculum at the new training facility, which is expected to serve 120 trainees from regions One, Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten, will also afford opportunities for beneficiaries of the training to further refine existing skills which have long been realizing steady even if modest coastal markets. An initial amount of $79 million will be available to commence construction of the training complex.
