Effective co-ordination enhances rapid devt, growth — Dr Sarpong

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Samuel Sarpong, has underscored the need for on effective working collaboration between local assemblies and Members of Parliament (MP) to realise the development needs of the country.

He said if district chief executives (DCEs), assembly members, presiding members (PMs) and Members of Parliament (MPs), worked together development could be enhanced for the benefit of all.

He was addressing the Adansi North District Assembly as part of his familiarisation visit to the area.

He commended the DCE for his good working relationship with the assembly members, the PM and the MPs in the area, which, he stressed, was yielding much dividends.

He expressed the hope that such co-ordinated efforts would provide the necessary push for rapid development.

He, therefore, charged them to sustain such efforts to ensure the  efficient running of the district.

He had earlier met the assembly members and  paid a courtesy call on the Adansi Traditional Council.

Dr Sarpong reminded the members of the assembly to not be ruled by their parochial interest but to ensure that all what they did was to the best interest of the district  

He urged the assembly to come up with meaningful working revenue collection strategies that could enable them to realise more revenue from its internally generated fund (IGF) to complement the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) for  development.

The regional minister advised the assembly to work assiduously so as to qualify for the District Development Fund (DDF), another source of fund for which qualification was mainly based on competence.

He advised them to take sanitation very seriously because it could become a threat to human life if not handled properly.

He stressed that the Ebola epidemic, which was gaining currency in some parts of West Africa, could be partly attributed to poor environmental sanitation.

He, therefore, called on the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to ensure that they placed much premium on environmental sanitation in their areas.

Dr Sarpong noted with concern the rate at which the environment was being destroyed by galamsay operations in some parts of the region.

“Many water bodies in the region had been polluted and cocoa and food farms destroyed as a result of the operations of those nation wreckers,” he indicated.

He said a regional tax force had been put in place and was making series of incursions to counteract the obnoxious activities of those who were in that practice.

He, therefore, advised the assembly to assist in clamping down the nefarious activities of the galamsay operators.

Dr Sarpong cautioned that the Regional Security Committee (REGSEC) would not tolerate anybody who would be caught indulging in that act.