FIRST EDITION OF 2019 TOWN HALL MEETING HELD IN THE TANO SOUTH MUNICIPALITY

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.