Tema residents urged to pay rates for rapid development

Oyibi, (G/A), Aug. 1, GNA - The Tema Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr David Quaye Annang, has urged residents of the municipality to honour their civic responsibilities, especially by paying their basic rates and other levies regularly to enable the Assembly to undertake rapid development.

He said though development of the communities was the responsibility of the Assembly the residents also had a role to play by ensuring that they paid their rates promptly to cushion its finances to take up more projects.

Mr Annang expressed regret that people were always quick to criticize issues yet they failed to play their roles to ensure the success of programmes.

He made the call on Tuesday at Oyibi when he met the chiefs and people at the beginning of a two-week tour of villages in the municipality, aimed at interacting with the rural folks; know their problems with a view to find solutions to them.

The tour took him to six villages on the first day where the chiefs and people raised common problems such as deplorable roads linking their towns, absence of markets, clinics, potable water, deplorable state of schools, libraries, rural banks as well as poor patronage of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) among others.

The villages were Manoman, Saduase, Oyibi, Saasabi, Applonia and Okushiblie.

On allocation of lands by the chiefs, he said in the interest of peace in the communities they should allocate a piece of land to one applicant at a time to avoid confusion and chaos associated with such ventures.

He noted that the issues of land guards who normally create chaos leading to deaths arise when the traditionalists give one plot of land to more than one person.

The Chief of Oyibi, Nii Borketey Bortey appealed to the Chief Executive to provide a master plan for the area to avoid encroachment on their land.

At Saduase, Mr Annang was sad to hear that some parents could not provide their wards with even two exercise books for a term, compelling the school head teacher to support them.

He noted that the best insurance parents and guidance could leave for their children and wards was to invest in their education and entreated them to willingly complement government's efforts by providing their wards with basic items like exercise books to enhance their learning.

He asked them not to take advantage of the Capitation Grant to shirk their responsibility of catering for their children's education. To avoid contracting communicable diseases the MCE advised them, especially food vendors to observe personal and environmental hygiene in their daily activities.

On the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) he asked all to register to enjoy quality and affordable health care. 1 Aug. 06