Ashaiman holds accountability forum
The Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) has held its maiden forum on accountability. The target of the forum was to incorporate views of residents into the development agenda of the municipality.
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The novelty programme, an initiative of the assembly, had the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Ibrahim Baidoo, rendering accounts of his stewardship so far to the people. He talked of revenue generation in the municipality, ongoing development projects and other initiatives aimed at ensuring transformation of the community.
The one-day forum was attended by representatives of religious bodies, schoolchildren, workers and other identifiable groups. There was also an exhibition that showcased strides that the municipality had made over the past year under the leadership of the MCE, Mr Baidoo.
Suggestions and viewpoints made at the programme have been documented to serve as a policy document that would fulfil the purpose of a blueprint for the development of the community.
Mr Baidoo announced that the assembly had received proposals for the construction of a municipal hospital on an 18-acre land.
According to him, the project had become necessary owing to the growing population in the municipality.
The Ashaiman Polyclinic, which serves as the only government health facility catering for the health needs of the people, is at the moment considered inadequate for the municipality’s estimated population of 500,000.
Under the circumstances many residents have had to rely on the services of private health providers in view of congestion at the polyclinic.
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“The municipal hospital project is, therefore, to be seen as very important. When that is done, life in Ashaiman will become more enlivened,” Mr Baidoo said.
Street naming
Touching on the street naming and property address system project, he said the assembly had completed the first phase and expressed optimism that when it was fully completed, it would assist to reduce the rate of crime in the municipality.
Bio-fertiliser project
The MCE announced that work on the 2.5 million-Euro waste to bio-fertiliser and energy project would begin by the end of the first quarter of this year.
He said the project, which falls under a grant from the Netherlands, would become a major revenue earner for the assembly.
Continuing, he said a Safi Sana project established to process waste into fertiliser was currently receiving 1,000 kilogrammes of waste everyday, made up largely of fruit and vegetable waste.
“The waste sent to this processing facility is separated, digested and taken through a number of stages. The end products are biogas and natural fertilisers,” he said.
He expressed the hope that the various interventions, particularly in the area of infrastructure, would transform the municipality into a more business-friendly community.
Participants
Participants in the programme called for the forum to be made a bi-annual event, as it is believed it has the potential to contribute to fostering a good relationship between residents and the assembly.
The assembly was tasked to ensure that the construction works on the main market-Lebanon-Zeenu road was speeded up in order to have the central business district decongested.
Writer’s email: delarussel@gmail.com