Accra Sub-metros to be expanded

Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, on Friday said the legislation on the expansion of the Sub-Metropolitan Assemblies would soon be placed before Parliament for consideration.

He said the Ministry had proposed to increase the Sub-Metros in Accra from the current six to 13 to reduce the workload on them.

The Minister announced this at separate meetings with Assembly members and staff of the Ablekuma and Ashiedu-Keteke Sub-Metropolitan Assemblies in Accra.

His Deputy, Captain Nkrabea Effah-Dartey (Rtd) and Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Solomon Ofei Darko accompanied him.

The meetings centred on the need to check the unsanitary conditions in the city to avoid flooding during the raining season and finding better ways of improving revenue collection.

Mr Baah-Wiredu urged the staff and Assembly members to pursue their responsibilities with zeal and honesty.

Capt. Effah-Dartey said the management of Accra called for the total involvement of all because of its size, the mounting unsanitary environment, revenue collection and the general indiscipline in the city.

He said although Accra had enormous economic resources yet the Sub-Metros Assemblies were not doing much to tap the resources probably due to their small sizes.

Issues the staff and Assembly members raised included lack of personnel and logistics, meagre salaries, lack of respect for city guards and building inspectors by the public and the need to change the Legislative Instrument to empower assembly members to implement programmes.