Earn yourselves public respect - President tells assemblies

Accra, Oct 30 GNA 96 President John Agyekum Kufuor on Monday urged

assembly members of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly not to seek their personal interest at the expense of the public good. He said when the assembly was served by dedicated and committed individuals who demanded accountability of themselves and management they would boost credibility of the Assembly and be assured of public respect.

The President's speech was read on his behalf by the Minister of Health, Major Courage Quashigah (RTD) at the inauguration of the 104- member Accra Metropolitan Assembly.

President Kufuor warned that any member of the Assembly that used his or her office to gain contracts or undue favours from the Assembly would be committing a serious offence and conflict of interest and would be liable for sanctions.

He also asked members not to seek favour from the chief executives and management as that would make it difficult for them to demand accountability.

He asked the members to break the reliance on central government for funds, urging them to explore other avenues for revenue. The President entreated the members to discharge their duties responsibly devoid of tendencies that would undermine the progress of development and warned that the standing orders of the assembly were there to deal with those who behaved on the contrary.

The message touched on revenue generation from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and said it was not impressive as compared with that of the Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly and urged them to explore avenues to improve upon it.

On his part, Major Quashiga challenged Ghanaians to behave responsibly towards the environment and avoid acts that add to the filth in the country, saying that, doing so would reduce the health hazards and thus have negative impact on productivity as well as developmental growth.

Mr. Stanley Adjiri Blankson, Metropolitan Chief Executive, said waste management constituted one of the most daunting tasks that would engage the attention of members.

He called for cooperation from all to make the task of administering the metropolis an easy one to fulfil the hopes and aspirations of the people and the electorate. 30 Oct. 06