Acting with best practices and laws can silence critics-Dzamesi

Ho, July 26, GNA - Mr Kofi Dzamesi, Volta Regional Minister, has appealed to Municipal and District Chief executives in the region to silence critics by adopting best practices and operating strictly within all relevant laws.

"Our responsibilities and duties as political leaders in the Volta Region are extraordinarily challenging because of the political orientation of the majority of the people in the region", he said on Wednesday.

Mr Dzamesi was addressing a meeting of the Volta Regional Co-ordinating Council attended by Municipal and District Chief Executives, District Co-ordinating Directors, Heads of Departments and Chiefs. He told the DCEs of the rising expectations and political consciousness of the people that required having to "go the extra mile" in discharging their duties.

"We should be able to blow our achievements to convince our people that support for any political party should be based on what a party can do for the socio-economic benefit of the people and not on mere emotionalism, sentimentalism and particular mindset", he said. He advised public sector workers in the region to be loyal to the government of the day irrespective of their political leanings. "Our efforts as a government are simply to improve upon the quality of life of the entire citizenry of this country" and that "those whose duty it is to serve the state should perform such duties without blemish in the interest of the nation and in their own interest", Mr Dzamesi said.

He said audit reports on the financial administration of the district assemblies were not encouraging.

"It will seem like the district assemblies are just taking things for granted. The infractions, omissions, commissions and irregularities are very serious matters of concern."

He directed the assemblies to procure the relevant laws on financial administration for their core staff to study and that the Regional Co-ordinating Director should organize workshops for them. Mr Dzamesi renewed his directive to assemblies to create 100-hectare land banks each to take advantage of a pilot programme by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) to develop infrastructure on such lands to attract investments.

Togbega Gabusu VI, President of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs, commended government for its performance in the development of infrastructure in the region.

"We will always thank government for its infrastructure development", he said and called on state agencies to collaborate their efforts to ensure quality and speedy execution of such projects. He advised DCEs to forge cordial working relationship between the assemblies and the chiefs because "we hear things you do not hear and we can help you".

"We are always there, we will never go that is why you have to work with us", he said. 26 July 07