Government receive high marks for free SHS implementation

The chiefs and people in the Amansie West District have applauded the government for the bold decision to implement the free senior high school (SHS) policy.

This, they said, had brought tremendous relief to parents and provided the opportunity for students from poor homes, who otherwise, would have found it difficult to access SHS education, to enroll.

Contributors to discussions at a town hall meeting held at Manso-Nkwanta, the district capital, were unanimous in their conviction that the intervention was a right step.

They chastised people, who have been raising questions about cost and sustainability of the policy and insisted that it was sustainable.

They claimed that huge sums of money spent on workshops and leakages through inflated contracts could be saved to fund the free SHS.

The programme was organized jointly by the Ministries of Information, Local Government and Rural Development and the District Assembly.

It provided the platform to discuss and educate the gathering on the various policies put in place by the government - Planting for Food and Jobs, National Entrepreneurial Innovation Plan, One-District-One-Factory and the one million dollars per each constituency.

Mr. William Bediako Asante, the District Chief Executive (DCE), said the government would keep faith with the people, would not betray their trust.

It was determined to go the extra mile to efficiently manage the nation’s resources to transform and make things better for everybody.

He assured the people that roads running through the area would be improved to allow for smooth movement of goods and services.

The DCE announced plans to build more Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds to bring quality health care to the population.

The Manso-Nkwanta and Manso-Adubia Health Centres would also be upgraded into hospitals, he added.

Mr. Joseph Albert Quarm, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, pledged to give strong support to ginger and orange farming, to produce the raw materials for the one-district-one-factory programme.

Mrs. Dina Ditas, the Ashanti Regional Information Officer, appealed to the people to work together to protect the environment – stop illegal miners from destroying the forest, farmlands and water bodies.