Ga Central Assembly improves IGF

The Ga Central Municipal Assembly improved its internally generated fund (IGF) by 45 per cent within the first year of service by the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Dr Emmanuel Lamptey.

The assembly, which had raised its IGF from GH¢1,880,000 to GH¢2,700,000 also paid 40 per cent of its GH¢1,992,458.66 debt within a year.

Dr Lamptey made this known last Friday at a forum to engage the press and stakeholders in Accra dubbed, "Accounting for One Year in Office under the Leadership of Dr Emmanuel Lamptey."

After assuming office for a year, the MCE, who was endorsed on May 4, 2017, deemed it necessary to account to the people whose mandate put him in his position while he engaged their stake moving forward.

Highlighting on activities, projects and programmes implemented in the municipality under his tenure, he stated that the assembly had executed a total of 67 projects under health, education, road, sanitation, social welfare benefits and good governance.

"Our IGF has improved by 45 per cent compared to 2016, while budgeted expenditure was reduced by 34.5 per cent due to prudent management," he said.

1D1F

Under the one-district, one-factory (1D1F) policy, Dr Lamptey indicated that the assembly had a public-private-partnership (PPP) arrangement with Renergic Limited and Catalyst Group for the establishment of a 48 million euro waste-to-energy plant at Ablekuma-Joma.

"Initial approval from 1D1F secretariat has been attained, as well as provisional wholesale electricity licence. Site assessments are ongoing for the other permits with the operational phase planned for June 2020. The project will provide 500 direct and indirect jobs for the youth in the municipality, aside from being a revenue stream for the assembly," he added.

As part of the waste-to-energy project, Dr Lamptey said some of the youth within the municipality would be trained in Finland for graduate studies that would complement the project.

"Another component of our 1D1F which is ongoing is the establishment of a sachet and bottled water facility. The business plan and designs of the facility are ready, while procurement process for the equipment is currently ongoing. Our intention is to have it operational by the end of 2018," he stated.

Physical projects

Dwelling on physical infrastructural projects, Dr Lamptey noted that the assembly had acquired for the first time its own property of an 11-room two-storey facility at Kwashiebu, which was being used for the municipal clinic, health directorate office, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and the birth and death registry.

The assembly, he added, had provided two four-by-four Kantanka pick-ups for the works department to ensure improved revenue mobilisation.

Also, he mentioned the construction of a three-storey 18-unit classroom block with two offices at Kokompe, which was about 30 per cent complete when he assumed office but was now 100 per cent completed.

Stakeholders’ call

During the engagement forum with the stakeholders, most of them raised issues of sanitation and the irresponsible disposal of waste within the municipality by some residents. In response, the MCE charged the stakeholders to report anyone who handled their refuse irresponsibly to the assembly for them to face the law.

The stakeholders also raised issues with bad roads and called on the MCE to address it.

Exercise patience

For her part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, who is also the Member of Parliament for Anyaa-Sowutuom, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, commended the MCE and the assembly for the work done within a year.

She assured the stakeholders of her commitment to working with the assembly to ensure the developmental plans of the municipality were implemented. She further urged them to exercise patience since all the projects could not be embarked on at the same time.

Ms Botchway assured the women who were also interested in acquiring loans from the Microfinance And Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) of her support in securing the loans for them in sessions, urging them to pay it back accordingly when they received the money.