Kodie (Ash), April 2, GNA - Mrs Lucy Owusu-Ansah, the Ashanti Regional Economic Planning Officer, has asked Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMD's) to involve major stakeholders in the preparation of their development plans.

She said this would help to ensure judicious use of national resources and bring down public accusations of misplaced priorities. Mrs Owusu-Ansah was speaking at a stakeholder meeting to solicit views of the public that could be incorporated into 2010-13 Medium Term Development Plan (MTDP) of the Afigya-Kwabre District at Kodie. Participating were chiefs, assembly members, heads of department, economic groups and organizations and area counselors. Issues that came up for discussion included health, education, revenue generation, land management, water resources, agriculture, commerce, governance and demography of the district. Mrs Owusu-Ansah said it was the wish of government that people participated in the decision-making process at all levels. She said she was confident that after providing the inputs they would continue to contribute to the socio-economic development of their communities.

Mr Andrews Mensah, the District Planning Officer, said apart from the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), the assembly depended on fees, fines, rates and licenses. He thanked the participants for their contributions and suggestions and said these would be factored into the plan. He raised concern about rate of degradation of the natural environment by developers in the area. 2 April 10