Bongo District exceeds revenue target for two years

Bongo (UE), Oct .20,GNA- The Bongo District Assembly in the Upper East Region, exceeded its revenue target for 2009 and 2010.

Mr Clement Akugre, the District Chief Executive (DCE) announced this on Wedneday at the Budget Composite hearing at Bongo.

He said the Assembly in 2009 targeted 77,885 Ghana Cedis and made 99,890 Ghana cedis while in 2010,it targeted 91,916 Ghana cedis and achieved 118,731 Ghana cedis.

The DCE however explained that the Assembly was not likely to achieve the target set for 2011 because it had a problem with Communication Service providers of as regards to Communication masts and were discussing how to resolve the issue.

Mr Akugre stressed that the District was one of the poorest districts in the country because its rocky terrain which offered very little space for farming and appealed to the Government and other stakeholders to give the area the needed support.

He explained that the area had a high population of about 100,000 people and advised them to cut down on their birth rate in order to be able to take good care of their families.

The DCE stated that the Assembly in the past had been providing economic support to some of the people under the Local Economic Development Programme which has empowered many people especially, the vulnerable, to engage in shea-butter extraction, Basket Weaving and Guinea Fowl rearing.

Mr Akugre said despite the challenges facing the Assembly, it had within two and half years executed 125 developmental projects including 13 which still under construction.

Some of the development projects include schools, Police accommodation, and Community Health Based Planning Services (CHPS) centres.

“A number of boreholes, construction of kitchen for the District Hospital, Nurses and teachers quarters among others, have also been executed”, he added.

He said for 2012, the Assembly had earmarked on the construction of more schools, expansion of the District Hospital, more CHPS centres and the procurement of furniture for the Ghana Immigration Service among others.

It will also organize training programmes for farmers on dry season farming.

He mentioned some of the challenges facing the District including late release of the District Assembly Common Fund, inadequate staff and limited skills, poor revenue mobilization, poor land tenure system and poor state of the roads.