The Western Regional Minister, Joseph Nelson, has handed over three outdoor broadcast vans to the Information Services Department (ISD) in the region as part of a nationwide government drive to strengthen public communication in underserved communities.
The handover ceremony was held at the Western Regional Coordinating Council (WRCC) premises in Takoradi, with regional ISD Director Thomas Tabiri receiving the vehicles on behalf of the department.
The vans are equipped with public address systems and are designed to enable live broadcasts, town hall meetings, policy forums and community feedback sessions, reaching communities that conventional media channels often miss.
Minister Nelson said the vehicles must be deployed strictly for their intended purpose and warned against misuse, directing that movement logs be maintained and monthly community engagement reports submitted to his office.
“These vans must be used for their intended purpose: to take information to the doorstep of every Western Region citizen — information about government policies, health campaigns, agricultural tips, and educational programmes,” he said.
Tabiri acknowledged the significance of the allocation, noting that field officers had long relied on limited means to carry out community outreach across the region’s dispersed districts. He said the three vans would be deployed across three priority zones: the northern belt, the coastal corridor, and mining-impacted districts where information deficits have historically been acute.
He added that a daily movement diary would be maintained and that members of the public were welcome to report any misuse.
The first deployments are scheduled for the coming week, targeting farming communities that have not hosted a government information team in over a year. Priority topics will include Free Senior High School (Free SHS) enrolment, childhood vaccination drives, and small business support programmes.
The Western Region allocation forms part of a broader national effort, with 40 mobile information vans procured and distributed to regional ISD offices across the country.
