Be agents of peace, unity and stability - Jumah

Kumasi, Sept. 15, GNA - Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah, Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), has asked Area and Town Councils to be agents for peace, unity and stability in their respective areas. He said these were essential ingredients without which there could be no development.

Mr Jumah was inaugurating the Kwadaso Area and Town Councils in the Bantama Sub-Metropolitan Council at Kwadaso in Kumasi on Sunday. He identified the lack of information as one of the major problems in the country and, therefore, asked the councillors to let the people know about the activities and programmes of the government. Mr Jumah said lack of information was also hindering people from adopting new technologies for doing things and that they were still steeped in their old ways which did not bring about progress. He, therefore, charged the Councillors to take up the challenge and get people well informed.

He pledged the preparedness of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) to help the Sub-Metro Council this year. However, it must be "the eyes, mouth and ears of the community" and should be able to monitor the work of contractors.

The MCE said the Council should be able to report the shoddy work of contractors or their failure to execute projects to the assembly. Baffour Asare Owusu Amankwatia V, Bantamahene, asked the Councillors not to exceed their areas of jurisdiction, reminding them that they were not custodians of stool lands but could lead prospective developers to chiefs.

Nana Kyei Ababio, Chief of Edwenase, expressed concern about the poor sanitation at Kwadaso, particularly the choked gutters, which exuded foul stench and asked the Council to tackle the problems as a matter of priority.

He asked the Councillors not to be driven by the desire for money since it was a voluntary work and called for cooperation between assembly members and Chiefs which, he said, was lacking at present. Mr Samuel Osei Bonsu, Chairman of the Council, appealed to the KMA to improve the road network in the area and called on the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to improve upon their services to communities in the area.