PUT ASIDE POLITICAL AFFILIATION IN ASSEMBLY DELIBERATIONS (PAGE 15, NOV 11)

THE Presiding Member of the Atiwa District Assembly in the Eastern Region, Mr Kwasi Amoako Attah, has stated that since the assembly does not conduct business on party lines the members should put aside political affiliation in their deliberations.
That, he said, would help accelerate the development of the communities in the area.
Mr Amoako Attah made the remarks when he addressed the second ordinary meeting of the assembly this year at Kwabeng, the district capital, at the weekend.
The Atiwa District, which was carved out of the vast East Akyem District about four years ago, though a stronghold of the New Patriotic Party, also has a large following of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
According to the presiding member, the area could only be developed if members of the assembly could put aside their political affiliations, unite and ensure a judicious use of resources.
Mr Amoako Attah pledged to continue to fight against corruption, and urged the assembly members not to do anything that would undermine the development of the communities but to continue to offer dedicated service to the people.
The District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Emmanuel Attah Twum, said eight projects were currently being undertaken with funding from the District Assemblies’ Common Fund and HIPC initiative, adding that construction work on them was at different stages of completion.
The projects included a GH¢96,000 health insurance office at Anyinam which has been completed, a GH¢61,000 junior high school complex at Pameng, which is 50 per cent complete, a GH¢68,352.43-four-unit kindergarten block for the Abomosu Presbyterian school which is 65 per cent complete and a GH¢181,724.62 two-storey bungalow for the DCE at Kwabeng.
On revenue generation, Mr Atta Twum said out of the estimated GH¢170,164 to be collected this year, GH¢118,427.35 had already been mobilised as of the end of October.
He also told the House that it’s first quarterly share of the District Assemblies’ Common Fund in the sum of GH¢232.241.98 as well as that for the second quarter constituting GH¢223,098.48, had been received.
The DCE gave the assurance that the assembly would make judicious use of the funds to improve the lot of the people.
He deplored the poor performance of the pupils at the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), saying out of the total number of candidates who sat for the examinations, 898 passed and 1,051 failed.
Mr Atta Twum, therefore, appealed to parents and teachers to live up to their responsibilities to reverse the trend.
He dwelt on other areas such as health, agriculture, and said the assembly had taken the necessary steps that would improve the lot of the people in the area, and appealed to the assembly members for support in that direction.