Offinso Assembly takes measures to curb illegal chainsaw operations

Offinso (Ash), Oct. GNA- The Offinso District Security Committee (DISEC) in conjunction with the District Forestry Commission has put in place a special task force to curb the increasing spate of illegal chainsaw operators in the District.

The task force comprises representatives of the Police, Fire Service, the BNI, Customs, Excise, and Preventive Service (CEPS), the Immigration Service, the Army and the Forestry Commission. Mr Augustine Collins Ntim, Offinso District Chief Executive (DCE), announced this in his sessional address to the second ordinary meeting of the District Assembly at Offinso New Town on Thursday. He said the security situation in the District was peaceful and calm and that the only intractable challenge was the illegal chainsaw operators and appealed to the assembly members to support the Forestry Commission to bring the situation under control.

The DCE hinted that reports reaching him indicated the circulation of fake new Ghana Cedi notes and urged the security agencies to be on the alert to bring the perpetrators to book.

Touching on a streets naming and house numbering exercise in the District, Mr Ntim said the District had been selected to benefit from the special exercise, which was being financed by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment.

He said in line with the requirements of the exercise, a special committee comprising representatives from the Offinso Traditional Council, assembly members, Town and Country Planning Department and management of the Assembly had been inaugurated adding that a consultant has also been appointed by the Ministry to oversee and facilitate its successful implementation in the District. On education, the DCE said five basic schools in the District have been selected to benefit from the school project under the Schools Under Trees Project and stressed that the beneficiary communities were, Kyebi, Amponsakrom, Nyamebekyere, Nkwaankwaa and Kuneso-Akomadan. Mr Ntim pointed out that the District benefited tremendously from the School Feeding Programme and that GH=A2 323,405 had been released from January this year to date to cover all expenses of the programme. He hinted that so far 11,332 pupils from 25 basic schools were served one square meal daily at school and in addition, the number of cooks engaged for the programme stood at 121. Dr Owusu Achaw Duah, Member of Parliament (MP) for Offinso South said he and the DCE were currently touring the various communities to know the problems facing the people and how best to improve their survival and development.

He challenged the assembly members and management of the Assembly to initiate planned programmes to ensure that the human and resource base of the District was developed especially in health and computerization.