THE Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, has challenged metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to develop strategic interventions aimed at improving upon internally generated funds to support their common fund for their developmental needs.
He threw the challenge when he toured projects sites at Abokobi in the Ga East municipality as part of his tour of the MMDAs in the country.
Mr Afriyie-Ankrah said the promulgation of the Local Government Law, Act 462, as well as the Legislative Instrument that established the various assemblies, was to ensure that decentralisation and the local governance process created the needed avenue for wealth creation at the local level.
He said the ministry was conducting an institutional audit on the 60 new assemblies that were created to enable it to get an insight into the problems facing the them.
He commended the Ga East Municipal Assembly for initiating self-help projects such as the construction of a modern four-storey office complex to house its entire staff, and bungalows to house both the chief executive and the co-ordinating director, among other projects.
The Municipal Chief Executive, Mr John Kwao Sackey, who conducted the deputy minister round the project sites, said the office project, which was initiated in 2007 by the previous administration, came to a standstill in that same year owing to financial constraints.
According to Mr Sackey, official work resumed when the NDC government took office in 2009.
“I can assure you we have settled all outstanding debts, including other estimated project costs to the tune of GHҐ2 million, and since we do not owe the contractor, we expect the complex to be completed and handed over by the end of the year for occupancy,” Mr Sackey said.
The deputy minister also toured a community library constructed by the assembly at the cost of GHҐ649,000, as well as an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) centre.
The MCE told the Daily Graphic that the library project replaced a ‘thank you’ facility initiated by old pupils of the Presbyterian Primary and Junior High School located in the community.
He pledged the assembly’s commitment to the government’s better Ghana agenda and appealed to the ministry to facilitate the release of the third quarter tranche of the assembly’s share of the common fund.
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