Local Govt Ministry concerned about boundary disputes
The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has expressed concern about the numerous boundary disputes that have sprung up with the creation of new districts.
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“The issue of boundary disputes is a nagging problem in local governance system. New districts have been created without proper boundary demarcations,” Mr Akwasi Opong-Fosu, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, has stated.
Mr Opong-Fosu was addressing metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs) in the Central Region last Tuesday.
He noted that following the creation of new districts in 2012, disagreement and tensions had emerged in addition to unresolved disputes.
Mr Opong-Fosu said the ministry was reviewing the report of the Professor Benning Committee commissioned by the ministry to inquire and help resolve the pre-2012 district boundary disputes and implement recommendations to bring peace and understanding among the affected districts.
On the provision of infrastructure in the newly created districts, the minister said, the ministry had released Gh¢100,000.00 to the 46 districts created in 2012 for the purchase of equipment and added that the government would provide office accommodation for the 46 new offices created in 2012.
On the decentralisation policy, he said the overall decentralisation policy goal and strategy was to involve the grassroots in decision making through the sub-district structures; the urban, zonal town and area councils and unit committees.
“Unfortunately, most of the sub-district structures were either ineffective or non-functional,” and added that there would be continuous capacity building and sensitisation on the scope of their responsibilities.
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He indicated that the ministry had launched a contract portal for managing the procurement, implementation and performance of public programmes and projects.
He said there were several interventions to improve the infrastructural developments in the districts to enhance living conditions.
The Central Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Sarpong, said the region recorded a 100 per cent in its functional organisational Assessment tool (FOAT) for all districts in the region and added that would be the benchmark for performance in the region.
He expressed concern about activities of illegal miners with its destructive effects on the environment and added that the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) had put in place a task force to deal with the situation.