Koforidua, May 17, GNA - The government is to fund the construction of a 15,000 capacity sports stadium at Koforidua.

A consultant has been appointed for the project and he is expected to discuss the details of the project with the Eastern Regional Co-ordinating Council, the New Juaben Municipal Assembly and other stakeholders.

The New Juaben Municipal Chief Executive, Nana Adjei Boateng, said this at the first ordinary meeting of the Fourth Session of the Fourth Assembly at Koforidua on Tuesday.

He reminded members of the assembly that structures alone could not develop sports but the interest of the youth and citizenry and sponsorship by sports enthusiasts and philanthropists. He appealed to members of the assembly to include the promotion and development of sports in their activities.

Nana Adjei Boateng said last year the internally generated revenue of the assembly fell below expectation and out of the expected 4.84 billion cedis, only 3.73 billion cedis representing 77 percent was realized.

He attributed the fall to the objection to property rates charged on the properties of Ghana Water Company, Ghana Railways, Ghana Post, State Construction Company and traders at the Koforidua Central Market. Nana Adjei Boateng said the assembly had allocated 28 million cedis to fight the control of tsetse fly at Oyoko.

He said despite efforts by the Municipal Assembly, the municipality still leads with a prevalence rate of 6.4 per cent in the annual HIV/AIDS surveillance rate.

This is higher than the national average and appealed to religious organizations to use their pulpit to educate the people on the HIV/AIDS. Nana Adjei Boateng said following government's decision to allocate five per cent of the District Assembly's Common Fund to support initiatives by the physically challenged, the New Juaben Municipal Assembly was supporting 44 physically challenged persons to establish micro-enterprises including batik tie and dye production, rubber cutting and cassava processing.

He said the assembly had allocated 198 million cedis of the amount allocated for the Poverty Alleviation Fund from the fourth quarter of the 2005 District Assembly's Common Fund for equipping 60 trainees of the Government's Skill Training for Employment Placement programme.

The beneficiaries were trained in grass cutter farming, garment industry and food processing.

He said under a solar street lighting project being promoted by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment and the street lighting project of the Ministry of Energy, all the major streets in the Municipality would be provided with streetlights.