Sunyani West District Assembly On Course to Achieving Development Targets

By Mary Gornah

The Sunyani West District Assembly in the Brong-Ahafo region is on course to achieving its development targets for the year 2018, the District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Martin Obeng, has disclosed.

Mr Obeng, who was addressing the sessional address at the First Ordinary Meeting of the Sunyani West District Assembly, last week, mentioned Security, Revenue Mobilization, Education, Agriculture and Health as targets that were achievable within the year.

On Security, Mr Obeng said, 200 street bulbs had been received by the Assembly to improve the street lighting system in the district. The DCE said the Assembly also made progress in revenue mobilization from the beginning of the year to date.

The Assembly, he said, had generated GH¢155,763.38, representing 30.1% of the target of GH¢516,700.00. Mr Obeng blamed the numerous rate defaulters for the shortfall which, he said, was preventing the Assembly from reaching it development goals.

He gave notice that the Assembly was preparing to take legal action against all defaulters in the district and appealed to the Assembly members to sensitize their electorate about their financial obligations to the Assembly and the responsibility of Assembly members to be involved in the revenue mobilization drive of the Assembly, saying it was a shared responsibility.

On education, the DCE said, the Assembly continued to prioritize the provision of quality education in the district. As a result, Mr Obeng said, the Education Directorate had put pragmatic measures in place to ensure the improvement of quality education in the district.

He mentioned intensive monitoring procedure as one of the measures that had been instituted in the district to achieve quality education.

He announced that all tranches of capitation grant arrears for 2016/2017 academic year had been received by the directorate and disbursed to all public basic schools in the district per the criteria for the disbursement, adding that the first tranche for 2017/2018 academic year had also been received and disbursed accordingly.

In the Agriculture Sector, the DCE said the Sunyani West District Assembly continued to give attention to the promotion of Agriculture in the District.

Mr Obeng said the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative in the District was on-going and that the focus, this year, was on four key commodity value chains-- Maize, Rice, Soya Beans and Sorghum-- adding the campaign would promote Peri-Urban Vegetable production.

He said the Assembly was also working seriously to promote quality and accessible health care through the provision of health facilities across the district. In line with this, he said, the Assembly was working around the clock to upgrade the Kwatire Polyclinic into a Hospital and was also considering upgrading the Chiraa Health Center.

The DCE said the Brong-Ahafo Medical Outreach Team, with the support of Sun City Media and MTN, organized a free surgical outreach programme at Kwatire Polyclinic from March 28 to April 1, 2018 where 70 cases of major and minor surgeries were performed.

Read Full Story