ATIWA DISTRICT ADJUDGED THE BEST (Page 38)

Story: A. Kofoya-Tetteh, Kwabeng

THE Atiwa District of the Eastern Region has been adjudged the best in the implementation and execution of European Union (EU) funded projects in the region.
The District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Kwasi Osei Agyepong, made this known at the assembly’s meeting at Kwabeng at the weekend
He said the judicious manner in which GH¢74,556.58 given out by the EU for the construction of a number of social amenities was utilised had won the confidence of the donors and expressed the hope that the EU would provide additional funding for other social amenities in the area.
That, he said, would further improve the living standards of the people in the area.
“We received GH¢74,556.58 from the EU to construct schools, a warehouse and modern places of convenience at Akropong, Adasawase, Mampong, Kwabeng, Enyiresi and Kadewase and I am happy to inform you that the judicious manner in which the fund is being used for the implementation of the projects has placed the district first among the 17 districts in that respect in this year’s assessment,” he said.
He, therefore, called for support from the assembly members for the speedy execution of projects in their electoral areas to justify funding for more projects.
With regard to the district’s health insurance scheme, he stated that so far 44,575 people, constituting 46 per cent of the district’s population, had registered, out of which 98 per cent were accessing health care.
The DCE, who also stated that the Ghana AIDS Commission had released GH¢8,000 to the assembly to help curb the spread of HIV/AIDS, indicated that centres for voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) had been set up at Kwabeng, the district capital, and four other towns in the area and appealed to the people to go for testing to know their health status.
On revenue generation, Mr Agyepong stated that the assembly collected GH¢967,994.22 in 2007, as against a projected figure of GH¢972,541.17, while GH¢468,934.00 was received as its share of the District Assemblies Common Fund.
On education, he said with the introduction of the Capitation Grant, enrolment in basic schools had soared but the performance of pupils in the BECE had been poor. He attributed the poor performance to a number of factors, including the inability of parents to control their children, most of whom attended video shows and other social activities in the night, at the expense of their studies.
In view of that, Mr Agyepong said the assembly had passed a bye-law banning children from video centres and other social gatherings in the night.
On agriculture, he said the government, through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, had assisted 125 farmers in the area, while tree and oil palm nurseries had been established at Bomaa to manage degraded lands in the Atiwa Forest Range.
The assembly, he said, was also taking steps to develop the area’s tourism potential.
Earlier, the Presiding Member, Mr Akwasi Amoako Attah, had expressed his displeasure at the payment of mobilisation funds to contractors, which exceeded the stipulated 15 per cent of the contract sum, and the lackadaisical attitude of staff of the assembly, warning them that anybody who would not perform to expectation would be severely dealt with.