Assemblyman of Akurem angry as residents refuse to pay community watchdog

The assembly member for the Akurem electoral area in the Asokore Mampong Municipality, Ibrahim Issah, is haggling with his electorates over the payment of levies for volunteer watchdog committees.

The issue became topical when the EU Funded No Business as Usual Project and the Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly held a town hall meeting in the Akurem Community.

The meeting was in line with the local government act which requires assembly members to have meetings with electorates to carry their needs to the assembly and to disseminate plans of the assembly to electorates.

Accounting for his stewardship to his community for the past one year and four months of being elected, he indicated that though robbery, theft, and other violent crimes are still being recorded in the electoral area, safeguarding his community has been his priority.

“When I took office crimes were very high in this community but these days, we only hear a few cases here. You have now stopped paying for the volunteers because the place is getting a bit safer,” he fumed.

According to the Assemblymember, every house is supposed to pay a monthly contribution of 15 cedis while shops pay 5 cedis a month to motivate and pay personnel of the committee.

He was however angered despite taking the initiative to institute an effective watchdog to fight criminals, the community has failed to fulfill its obligation of paying fees to aid their operations.

“The households and stores should help because we cannot leave things to chance,” he advised.

While some residents who were present at the town hall meeting commended the assembly member, others expressed their concerns about several developmental challenges that the municipal has to urgently address.