Ashanti Regional Peoples' Assembly held in Kumasi

Kumasi, Jan 15, GNA- Mr Sampson Kwaku Boafo, the Ashanti Regional Minister, reaffirmed on Thursday that the mass cocoa spraying exercise is free.

''Cocoa spraying gangs do not have any right to charge farmers before the farms are sprayed'', the Regional Minister said. Mr Boafo was reacting to a complaint by Madam Abena Akyiaa, a cocoa farmer at Manso-Antoakrom in the Amansie West District, at the People's Forum held in Kumasi on Thursday.

Madam Akyiaa complained that the spraying gang in her area asked her to pay 200,000 cedis before they would spray her farm. She paid the money but her farm has not been sprayed.

The Regional Minister gave the assurance that he would personally see to it that her farm was sprayed.

Addressing the forum, Mr Boafo said the mass cocoa spraying and the introduction of 'high-tech' cocoa system have boosted production of the cash crop.

The Regional Minister said the government on the assumption of power, promised a transparent and open administration and that the People's Assembly is a real manifestation of how such an event has become institutionalised.

On education, he said, the metropolitan and district assemblies have performed creditably in the provision of school buildings, furniture, and accommodation for teachers.

Touching on improvement and accessibility to health care delivery, Mr Boafo mentioned the construction of health centres at Aframso in the Ejura-Sekyedumase District, Kotokrom and Anhwiaso in the Atwima District while a 542.4 million-cedis Rural Health Services Facility has been put up at Nkawie under the OPEC Fund.

Mr Boafo said about 18 metropolitan and district assemblies have embraced the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) while a lot of projects on water and sanitation are on going in the region. He said a number of trunks and feeder roads are being constructed and they included some arterial roads in the Kumasi metropolis, Mankranso-Tepa, Bekwai-Kuntanase-Ejisu, Ejura-Kuntoso-Nkoranza and Aframso-Chiradeso-Nkoranza roads among others.

Most people at the forum expressed concern about the unsanitary conditions in the metropolis and said the filth engulfing Kumasi is the cause of poor health of most residents.

Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah, the Metropolitan Chief Executive, said in reaction to the concerns that the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) is making huge efforts in waste disposal.

Some 33 projects including a 29-billion-cedis landfill facility to dispose of Kumasi garbage has been completed.

He expressed regret that the KMA decided to charge each household 25,000 cedis a month for garbage collection but the residents refused to pay.

Mr Jumah called on residents to co-operate with the KMA to dispose of waste.

The KMA boss said through the help of the NPP government, a lot of projects are on-going including 100 million-dollar central market project to help facelift the city and called on all and sundry to eschew rumour-mongering, maligning and bickering and allow peace to prevail.