The second session of the general Assembly of the
Tano South District Assembly has been held.
A
cross section of Hon. Members and dignitaries at the meeting
The meeting held at the Assembly Conference Hall of
the district saw the attendance of the DCE, Hon Collins Offinam Takyi, the
Presiding Member, Hon. John Dadzie, the District Coordinating Director, Mr.
Kofi Kingsley Sencherey, the District Finance Officer, Mr. Agyenim – Boateng
Patrick and Nana Fosu Gyeabour Akoto II, the Omanhene of Bechem Traditional
Area.
In an opening address, the Presiding Member, Hon.
John Dadzie welcomed all and sundry to the important meeting of the Assembly
and said the meeting will give platform and privileges to the participants and
Hon. Members to deliberate on the developmental agenda of the District. He
said, the meeting is also in fulfilment of the standing orders of the Assembly
which mandates all Hon. Members to meet as and when necessary to access the
critical issues in the district and find the needed ways to address them.
The
Presiding Member of the Assembly welcoming the Hon. Members
Hon. Dadzie thanked the MP, Hon. Benjamin Yeboah
Sekyere for procuring a double decker refrigerator to the office the Presiding
Member and called on the MP to provide the Office with a Television Set to
enable it befits the status. Since time lost is never refundable, he urged all
Hon. Members to respect time in everything they do especially in attending
Assembly Meeting and other official functions and urged them to contribute
their quota to make the meeting a success.
With regards to the Public Relations and Complaint
Committee, he said, the committee is one of the statutory committees of the
Assembly responsible for educating the general public on the activities of the
District. He said, the committee has held its first meeting to discuss the best
ways to perform its constitutional mandate and encouraged them to inform the
electorates to use their office to address the emerging issues.
Hon Dadzie said, the Annual Presiding Members’
Conference for 2017 was held at the Institute of Local Government Studies in
Accra, where a number of issues were discussed including the procurement and
supply of motorbikes to the Assembly Members.
In a sessional address, the DCE, Hon. Collins
Offinam Takyi said, he was very glad to be given the opportunity to address the
August House for the second time since his assumption of office.
He expressed the good wishes of His Excellency Nana
Addo Dankwa Akuffo – Addo , the President of the Republic of Ghana, the Brong
Ahafo Regional Minister, Hon. Kwaku Asomah Cheremeh, the MP for Tano South
Constituency Hon. Benjamin Yeboah Sekeyere and his own behalf to all members
present and said the turnout for the meeting is an indication that Hon. Members
are eager to collaborate with Stakeholders, Institutions and Agencies to work as a team to improve the living
standards of people in the District.
On security matters, Hon. Takyi said, the District
continues to remain relatively calm and peaceful due to the prudent strategies
put in place by the District Security Committee (DISEC) and assured Nananom and
other stakeholders that the Assembly will do all it takes to support the
committee to enable them to perform its core mandates.
Hon.
DCE for Tano South addressing the House
On finance, Hon. Takyi stressed that the Assembly
acquires its financial resources through the District Assembly Common Fund,
Internally Generated Fund, District Development Fund and Donations. He said,
since the Assembly has limited financial resource, it finds it difficult to
meet the expectation of the citizenry and urged the Assembly members to support
the revenue collectors to mobilize more revenue for the Assembly to enable them
to address issues affecting people in the District.
Since education is the key to success, Hon. Takyi
said, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo – Addo has rolled out the Free
Senior High School Programme in line with 2016 manifesto promise of the New
Patriotic Party and hinted that the programme is aimed at making the Ghanaian
child of school going age have access to Free Senior High School. He said,
there are three (3) Senior High Schools in the District and out of them, one is
a boarding facility and stressed that the implementation of policy has made
2017 academic year saw each school admitting more students. He said, government has also paid all first
year students’ fees and provides one hot meal a day for all day students free
of charge as a component of the free SHS policy.
Hon. Takyi said the introduction of the free Senior
High School is a good intervention programme but it has come with its associate
challenges such as inadequate boarding accommodation, hostel facilities for
students who come from far and inadequate kitchen staff to cook for the
students and stressed that the Central Government and the Assembly are working
assiduously to ensure the challenges are addressed to create enabling
environment for teaching and learning.
He stressed that, as part of Assembly’s efforts to
improve education by building the human resource capacity of the younger
generation in the District, the Assembly had implemented the recommendations from the social services
sub – committee by paying an amount of twenty – four thousand, six hundred and
twenty – four Ghana cedis and twenty pesewas ( GH 24, 624.20) from the District
Assembly Common Fund to thirty – three (33) students in the second cycle
institution, colleges of education, nursing training colleges and the
universities who had applied for financial support from the Assembly.
On health sector, Hon. Takyi said, CHPs Compounds
provide strategic planning and implementation of primary health care activities
within a community with full participation of community members and hinted that
the Assembly is putting efforts in place to provide needed equipment to four
(4) CHPs Compounds to begin work in order to make people in the community have
access to health care delivery.
With regards to National Health Insurance Scheme,
Hon, Takyi said, the scheme was established to provide equitable access and
financial coverage for basic health care services for all manner of Ghanaians
and stressed that from January to August, 2017, the Tano South District office
of the National Health Insurance has been able to register twenty – five
thousand, two hundred twenty – four (25, 224) people onto the scheme. He said,
currently the scheme has nine (9) accredited health care providers serving its
members in the District and seven (7) health care providers and said since
January to August, 2017 the National Health Insurance Authority has been able
to release a total amount ( GH 1, 578, 480.37) to pay some accredited service
providers.
To make Agricultural sector becomes
attractive and productive to Ghanaians, Hon. Takyi said government has launched
the Planting for Food and Jobs policy to subsidize Agricultural inputs by fifty
per cent (50%) with the remaining fifty per cent (50%) paid by farmers. On
Planting for Jobs and Investment, which is a subsidiary of Planting for Food
and Jobs, Hon Takyi indicated that, the Assembly is putting measures in place
to support between ten thousand (10,000) to twenty thousand (20,000) farmers in
the District to cultivate an average of ten (10) acres of crops within the next
four (4) years.
Hon. Takyi touched on LEAP, water and sanitation and
electricity and said the Assembly will continue to do its core mandates by
providing good drinking water and extension of electricity to the needed
communities.
The house also used the occasion to discuss the
Executive Committee report of the Assembly and the fee fixing resolution for
2018.
Nana
Fosu Gyeabour Akoto II giving his address
Nana Fosu Gyeabour Akoto II, the Omanhene of Bechem
Traditional Area who had the opportunity to attend the meeting in a speech said,
the chiefs of Ahafo have submitted a proposal concerning the creation of Ahafo
Region to the office of the President and hinted that when government is ready
for the creation of the Region, a referendum will be conducted by electoral
commission and urged all legible voters to vote massively to acquire needed
percentage of votes for the creation of the Region.
