The Catholic Diocese of
Justice and Peace Commissioner in collaboration with the Tano South Municipal
Assembly has organized the first edition of 2019 Town Hall Meeting to make
decentralized heads including MCE for
Tano South explained a number of government policies, programmes and Assembly’s
activities to the people in the Municipality.
On the purpose of the
meeting, Rev. Fr. Sixtus Kyei Kusi said the Diocese of Justice and Peace Commissioner
had collaborated with the Tano South Municipal Assembly to organize this
important meeting to make duty bearers of the Municipality account their
stewardship to the residents. Also, he said this meeting would also offer
opportunity for citizens to communicate their needed priorities to the
management of the Tano South Municipal Assembly.
Above pictures indicate the dignitaries and audience at the meeting.
The meeting which held
at Bechem, Techimantia and Derma saw dignitaries like Hon. Collins Offinam
Takyi, the MCE for Tano South, Hon Kofi Asare, Hon. Benjamin Asabel, the Tano
South branch of New Patriotic Party’s Chairman, Mr. Fred Adutwum, Hon Kwabena
Adjei, the Municipal NADMO Coordinator, Mr Adoom Cudjoe, the Municipal
Environmental Health Officer, Mr Alfred Osei Berko, the Municipal Engineer, Mr
Abdul Fatawu, the Municipal Director for National Commission for Civic
Education, Mr Evans Akingya, the deputy coordinating director, Rev. Gaspard
Dery and Nana Ampong Kromantang II, the
Krontihene of Techimantia Traditional Area.
MCE for Tano South
speaking at the meeting
At all the three
communities the meeting held, the MCE for Tano South Hon. Collins Offinam Takyi
welcomed all participants and thanked them for making time out of their busy
schedule to attend the programme and carried greeting from the offices of His
Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo, the President of the Republic of
Ghana, Ahafo Regional Minister, Hon. Evans Opoku Bobie and Hon. Benjamin Yeboah
Sekyere, who is the MP for Tano South Constituency and deputy Minister for
Ahafo Region to all and sundry gathered at the meeting and said ‘’community
participation in Local Governance for rapid and sustainable development’’ was
the theme for the meeting and stressed that the meeting would offers
opportunity for citizens to become abreast with government policies and
Programmes.
On one million dollar
per constituency policy, Hon Takyi said the Tano South Municipal Assembly had
done priority needs assessment on the development projects required by the
Municipality and submitted report to the office of Middle Belt Development Authority
and hinted that when the funds are released for the execution of the projects,
it will be used judicious and accordingly by Assembly. During the meeting, the
MCE for Tano South educated Techimantia Youth Association’s members who wanted
to embark demonstration exercise to make their plights to be held by duty
bearers was informed to channel their resources and energies to organize
communal labour to clean the community to help protect people from getting
cholera diseases.
Hon. Takyi said some of
the residents have contributed immensely to support the development agenda of
the municipality over the years and needed to be recognized and hinted that Assembly
has taken steps to name government’s structures in the municipality after such prominent
residents and emphasized that this initiative will also go a long way to sustain
development projects of the Assembly. He said even though Bechem town roads had
been awarded for contract by government but since the roads in the municipality
are in a deplorable state, he said he would continue to collaborate with MP for
the constituency to influence the needed authorities to awards
Bechem-Techimatia-Derma-Asuoso road for contract under the government’s cocoa
roads projects to help boost businesses in the municipality and led participants to observe a minute silence to
remember the late formal President John Evan Atta Mills.
To address unemployment
issues in the Municipality, Hon. Takyi said Assembly is taking steps to embark
oil palm nursery projects of which the oil palm seedlings will be distributed
to farmers free of charge and urged those who want to obtain the seedlings
should go to Municipal Assembly to register for the programme.
In another development,
Mr. Alfred Osei Berko, the Municipal Assembly Engineer took participants
through works performed by works department of the Assembly and said the
department was responsible for giving technical advice on physical structures
to management of the Assembly, help Assembly obtain good contractors for the
execution of projects, design proper layout for the communities, deal building
regulations, prevent citizens from putting structures at unauthorized places
and many more.
Mr. Berko emphasized that Local Governance Act
2016, Act 936 enjoyed all persons who wanted to build temporal or permanent
structures needed to obtain building permit from the Assembly but stressed that
most of the residents in the municipality had built structures without having a
building permit and urged those who do not have building permit should go to
Assembly to apply for it.
Mr. Kwabena Adjei, the
Tano South Municipal NADMO Coordinator said the Municipality had recorded
rainstorm disasters at the early part of the year and rendered many people
homeless and explained that the efforts put in place by Assembly and Tano South
Municipal branch of National Disaster and Management Organization (NADMO) made victims
acquired roofing sheets to re-roof their buildings. He said his outfit had also formed many
volunteers’ group at the various communities of which the volunteers constantly
educate the communities’ members on the causes and effects of disasters.
Mr Adoom Cudjoe, the
Municipal Environmental Health Officer explained connotations of various environmental laws like the District
Assembly by laws, Local Government ACT 2016, ACT 936, the 1992 constitution (Article
41), the pesticide control and management ACT 1990, ACT 528 and the Public
Health ACT 2012, ACT 851 to the participants and emphasized that the Local
Government ACT 2016, ACT 936 enjoyed citizens to keep and safeguard their
environment and hinted that if the environment is not protected; it will make
people get diseases and used the meeting
to inform those who do not have toilet facilities at their abodes should put in
place measures to have them.
On sanitation status of
the Municipality, Mr Cudjoe said the Municipality could boost of having 47%
refuse dump sites and stressed that Assembly had stated construction of toilet
facility projects in the Municipality and said when the project is completed it
would help improve the sanitation situation in the Municipality.
Mr Abdul Fatawu, the
Municipal Director for National Commission for Civic Education educated
residents on the importance of upcoming District Assembly Election and
referendum exercise on whether District Chief Executives should be elected or
not and hinted that before District Chief Executives could be elected unless
40% of the total voters vote YES to
obtain 75% of the election and urged all qualifies voters to take part of the
elections as soon as they commence in the Municipality.
