Deputy Minister of Local Government, Decentralization, and Rural Development has expressed satisfaction with the performance of the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Ashanti Region (AR) during a monitoring tour.
Even though Mr. Augustine Collins Ntim, has not yet thoroughly analyzed the data from the various presentations, he said that all of the assemblies have done admirably despite several difficulties.
In accordance with the flagship programmes, the assemblies are evaluated in a number of areas, including agriculture, health, and education. They are also judged on how well they mobilize and use revenue and hold statutory meetings as required by the Local Government Act.
Mr. Ntim asserted that the dedication shown by the chief executives and their officers has unquestionably produced a number of achievements, particularly in the area of employment creation.
“And what is amazing is the level of collaboration that exists between the chief executives, the traditional authorities and then the heads of the decentralised departments. I’m not surprised that they’re churning out such results, even though we have some few problems with regards to the local economy development activities,” he said.
Mr. Ntim added that although people have the right to demand development, it is important to remember that it is a process rather than an event. As a result, he advised Ghanaians to exercise patience as numerous projects are currently being carried out across the country.
He stated that despite the numerous initiatives being carried out by the various assemblies in the fields of health, education, and local economic activity, including roads construction, the public is still in need of more.
“Once they have a government that is so yielding to their advice, they will always want to opt for more. They request for more, and I believe that it’s because of the level of trust and confidence they have in the government, they always need to request for more. You know like what one of the chiefs remarked, we’re doing so well in all the various sectors except that we need to touch base with some few feeder roads and trunk roads.
And I’m happy that almost all the districts that I’ve toured you see [that] projects construction [are] going on except that, some of them have been abandoned.
I’m sure for want of payment, going forward, I’m very much pretty sure that, they will be resourced to come back and compete the projects,” Mr. Collins Ntim explained.
According to Christian Adu Poku, the District Chief Executive for the Afigya Kwabre South District, the Assembly is ready to start a lot of development projects, but the delay in the disbursement of the Common Fund frequently hinders them.
He mentioned, among other things, that all of their roads are in a deplorable state. As a result, he is pleading with the Ministry to support the cause by making sure that the area receives its fair share of the road projects.
For his part, Kwasi Karikari Achamfour, the District Chief Executive for the Afigya Kwabre North District, noted that despite the young status of the District, strategic measures are being developed to address its numerous persistent challenges.
Regarding education, he said that in order to promote academic excellence, two (2) “pragya” vehicles have been purchased to assist in the transportation of teachers to and from some remote communities.
The traditional leaders, who took part in the Minister’s engagement, applauded the government for taking such as step to ensure that the various assemblies function more effectively in order to boost local economy and generate jobs for the youth.
Source: Ghana News
