THE Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, has said the government’s priority of enhancing living standards could materialise if various assemblies identify real problems facing the communities.
He has, therefore, appealed to assembly members to ensure that every community is included in the sharing of the national cake — the provision of infrastructural amenities and other poverty alleviation programmes.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo made the remarks when he paid an unannounced working visits to four district assemblies in the region, namely Akuapem North, Yilo Krobo, Lower Manya Krobo and Asuogyaman, last Saturday.
The regional minister, who is also the acting district chief executive for the 21 political entities in the region, was accompanied by the Eastern Regional Manager of Ghana Tourist Board, Mr Sampson Donkoh.
The visit, the first to be undertaken by the regional minister since he assumed office about two weeks ago, was to acquaint himself with the problems facing the assemblies to see how best to address them to improve the living condition of the people in the various communities.
The tour, which also took Mr Ofosu Ampofo to tourist sites such as the Boti Falls near Huhunya in the Yilo Krobo District and Arkaa Falls in Akuapem North District, was to see how best to develop such attractions to create employment for the local people and also generate income for development.
According to Mr Ofosu Ampofo, the cardinal point as contained in the National Democratic Congress Manifesto was the development of the various communities to raise the living standards of the people and that such an initiative could only be achieved if the assemblies could work hard by increasing revenue generation to support the central government in that respect.
“The government has a mission to accomplish to make life worth living for all and this can be accomplished with the provision of infrastructural amenities and other poverty alleviation initiatives,” Mr Ofosu Ampofo told the assembly members and staff at the four places, Akropong, Somanya, Odumase-Krobo and Atimpoku, capitals of Akuapem North, Yilo Krobo, Lower Manya Krobo and Asuogyaman respectively.
He advised the coordinating directors in the districts to help increase revenue generation and also ensure that the assemblies were not plunged into debts particularly in the award of contracts.
The assemblies, he further suggested, should involve private investors to improve the receptive centres at the Boti and Arkaa Falls to attract more local and foreign tourists.
This, he stated, could bring in more revenue for the development of the communities.
At Akropong, the first place of call, Mr Ofosu Ampofo asked the assembly to assist women engaged in gari processing, as well as help add value to citrus fruits which were in abundance in the area.
At Somanya in Yilo Krobo and Krobo Odumase in Lower Manya Krobo, Mr Ofosu Ampofo directed the coordinating directors of the two assemblies to put in a mechanism to ensure that their outfits were not plunged into debt.
That was after Mr Ofosu Ampofo was told that the Yilo Krobo Assembly last year recorded a budget deficit of GH¢130,000 while that of Lower Manya was GH¢70,000 for the same period.
The regional minister also asked the two assemblies to judiciously use the revenue from the limestone mining at Odugblase for the development of the two areas.
At Atimpoku in the Asuogyaman District, the Coordinating Director, Mr Kudjoe Dekpor, said the main problems of the assembly were chieftaincy disputes in the Akwamu Traditional Area, particularly at Adjena where Ghacem, which was about to mine limestone, had decided to pull out due to disputes.
In response, Mr Ofosu Ampofo gave the assurance that he would do his best to resolve the problems.
He also gave the assurance that he would contact the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs to embark on girl-child education campaign in the area after Nana Kesewa II, Queen of Nnudu in Akwamu, had told him about the unwillingness of parents to send girls to school.
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