Unit c’ttees asked to seek expert advice
Members of area councils and unit committees have been advised not to work in isolation but rather seek technical expertise to enable them to draw proper development programmes for their respective metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs).
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The Chief of Dompim in the Wassa East District in the Western Region, Nana Kwamena Enimil, who gave the advice at Daboase, the district capital, said even though the people had voted for them to assist in the development of the MMDAs they should do a lot of consultations before they would embark on any effective development agenda.
Addressing the inauguration and swearing-in of the Daboase Unit Committee and Area Council members at a ceremony, the Dompimhene, who was the chairman of the occasion, said once the people had given them the mandate as required by the 1992 Constitution, it meant that they had reposed some trust in them to discharge conscientiously.
Decision-making
Chapter 20 of the Constitution makes provision for the inauguration and swearing-in of members of the unit and area councils after their election to participate in decision-making process of democratic governance.
That, according to Nana Enimil, indicated that the members ought to reciprocate by assisting the assemblies to provide the needed socio-economic development for the people in the various communities.
He observed that one key area that the members were to concentrate on was the mobilisation of revenue, the main thrust for development projects and added that, “Nananom want development and if we have entrusted the power to you in this direction, we expect you to perform creditably for the people of Wassa.”
Herculean task
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Wassa East, Mr Emmanuel Anthony Aggrey, who performed the ceremony, reminded the members of the herculean task ahead of them in providing assistance to the assembly in its development agenda.
He noted that the decentralisation system had processes, structures and functions to ensure that the district assembly concept worked perfectly.
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The DCE added that, “In fact, the town, urban, area councils and unit committees constitute very important structures through which persons in the district are given the opportunity to pursue their development agenda.”
Mr Aggrey indicated that it was the concern of everyone in the district to ensure that the area councils and unit committees did not merely exist but function effectively by mobilising both human and material resources for the development of the people.
IGF
The District Coordinating Director (DCD), Ms Rachael Fosua Sarpong, noted that the assembly’s internally generated fund (IGF) was not encouraging at all and, therefore, charged the members to concentrate their energies on the mobilisation of revenue for development projects.
She explained that the Area Council was entitled to 50 per cent of the revenue so generated and said the more money they collected as revenue, the more they would have their share to embark on development projects and other engagements.