Bolgatanga MCE elected unveils development plans

Bolgatanga, April 25, GNA - The new Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of the Bolgatanga Municipality, Mr Epsona Harry Ayamga, has unveiled a number of plans to move the development of the area forward. He said under his leadership the substructures of the assembly such as the zonal, town, and area councils, which were weak and non-functional, would be strengthened and made functional. He stressed that until the substructures were strengthened and made to function effectively, the purpose of Ghana's decentralization concept would be a mirage. He indicated that the long standing dispute over the Bolgatanga Market that was renovated some years back would be resolved to allow market women and traders to transact business to increase the assembly's internal generated revenue for development. He explained that he would do that by inviting all stakeholders including Chiefs and Tindamas (caretakers of lands) and market women to a roundtable discussion to resolve the issue and open the market. Mr Ayamga regretted that the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly for the past years, according to a survey conducted by "Ghartey Association" in 2008, had not achieved much in the area using the two per cent of the Common Fund allocated to people with disabilities, for programmes and projects that fully benefit them. He indicated that in line with the President's promise not to discriminate and marginalize anybody or groups of people, the assembly would ensure that the disabled benefited fully from what had been allocated to them.

On sanitation, the MCE said bold and comprehensive measures would be taken to deal with the appalling filth in the Municipality and stated that the Assembly would not leave the issues of sanitation to only the Zoomlion Company but would ensure that it became a duty and collective responsibility of all in the Municipality. He was not happy with the poor road network and street lights in the Municipality and said he would liaise with the decentralized departments and agencies in the road sector to provide the Municipality with a road network that befits it. The DCE said another major challenge facing the Municipality was extreme poverty and indicated that the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) revealed that rural poverty in the Bolgatanga Municipality was 99 per cent, indicating that the vast majority of the people were living in abject poverty. He stated that fighting poverty would be the major priority of the Assembly and expressed the hope that with the introduction of the pro-poor policies by the government, the plight of the people would be curtailed. 25 April 09