Parliamentary select committee engages assemblies in Brong Ahafo

The Parliamentary Select Committee on Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) has called on Members of Parliament (MP) and the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to support the government to fight corruption in the country.

A member of the committee who is also a Deputy Minority Whip, Mr Ahmed Ibrahim, who made the call, said fighting corruption was not just by word of mouth, "if we the parliamentarians will sit up and do what is expected of us, I think we can win the fight against corruption".

He was speaking to the media at Berekum in the Brong Ahafo Region to round up the committee’s two-day working visit to the Brong Ahafo Region.

Mr Ibrahim said fighting corruption was a shared responsibility and urged MPs to consider monitoring and assessing activities of the MMDAs to help stop corruption in the country.

Committee

The committee was in the region to monitor how the Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) utilised the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF), Internally Generated Fund (IGF), District Development Fund (DDF) and Persons Living With Disabilities (PLWDs) fund and other funds.

The committee looked at contracts signed between a waste management organisation, Zoomlion Ghana Company Limited and the various district assemblies to see how the company was managing sanitation in the various districts.

They also checked the number of staff of both the assemblies’ environmental officers and the Zoomlion Company as well as Zoomlion trucks and waste bins.

Areas the committee visited were Banda District, Jaman South Municipality, Asunafo North and Asunafo South and Asutifi North districts.

Suspension

However, the committee’s meeting with Jaman North District assembly was suspended following the assembly’s inability to arrange to meet the committee.

The committee, therefore, summoned officials of the assembly to Accra to respond to the committee and explain why the assembly could not prepare for the committee despite the questionnaire and notice sent to it two weeks ago.

The committee engaged the various district coordinating directors, assembly sanitation officers and social welfare directors among other heads of departments.

Sanitation

On sanitation, Mr Ibrahim said since private companies were ready to partner with the government for development, Zoomlion’s contract with various assemblies would not be terminated and called on the government to pay the company on time for proper execution of its mandate.