Gomoa West District Assembly should be run as business- DCE

Apam (C/R, Aug. 31, GNA- The Gomoa West District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Theophilus Aidoo-Mensah has noted that the District Assembly is a business entity and not a charitable organisation, hence the need for employees to take their work seriously. Addressing the first ordinary meeting of the third session of the assembly at Apam, Mr Aidoo-Mensah said members should find means to increase its internally-generated fund in order to record surplus after expenditure.

He said total revenue collected for the first half of 2009 was GH¢45,340.35, while expenditure was GH¢45,417.93, leaving a deficit of GH¢77.59, which he described as "not good enough". The DCE urged the Finance and Administrative Sub-Committee of the assembly and revenue collectors to ensure that every pesewa owed to the assembly was collected without favour, adding that prosecution of defaulters would start soon.

Mr Aidoo-Mensah said the Urban Poverty Reduction Project and the Community-based Rural Development Project were putting up a number of projects to boost education in the area.

Nine six-unit classroom and three-unit classroom blocks, four teacher's quarters' and four Early Childhood centres were being funded by the two projects at the cost of GH¢1,867,351.67. He said the assembly had also made available GH¢11,095.00 to support students in the payment of their fees and appealed to the beneficiaries to study hard to justify the investment. The DCE asked the District Education Directorate to revive the defunct inter-school quiz and debating competitions as a means of encouraging students to learn.

Mr Aidoo-Mensah said the assembly had purchased eight polytanks to store and distribute water at Apam and Mumford due to leakages in the pipelines that provided the substance to the two towns for consumption. He appealed to the Ghana Water Company Limited to repair the leakages without further delay to avert disaster. Mr Aidoo-Mensah said he was working out plans to get boreholes drilled in the communities to forestall the perennial water problems facing the people.

He said the assembly owned contractors and other service providers an amount of GH¢175,000 and appealed to the creditors to exercise patience as they await payment.

The DCE said some of them had even taken legal action against the assembly. Mr Fred Abbam, Presiding Member commended the DCE for his sense of duty and frankness and advised the staff and members of the assembly to ensure that bye-laws enacted by the body were endorsed and gazetted by the Local Government and Rural Development machinery.