East Akyem Municipal Assembly exceeds revenue targets

Kyebi, Aug. 14, GNA - The East Akyem Municipal Assembly has exceeded its revenue target for the past two years, Mr Peter Asirifi, the Municipal Chief Executive, has disclosed.

Addressing the first ordinary meeting of the assembly at Kyebi on Friday, Mr Asirifi said in 2007 and 2008, the assembly estimated GHC 136,823.33 and GHC 219,124.20 and collected GHC 150,937.29 and GHC 247,875.37 respectively, adding that last year the percentage performance was 110.84 per cent. He said for the 2009 fiscal year, the assembly estimated GHC 297,269.52 for collection from its internally generated fund and collected GHC 141,671.51 representing 47.66 percent of the annual target.

Mr Asirifi said out of the 12 on-going projects in the area three were being funded through the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) and revealed that the assembly had made payment commitments to all the three projects and therefore owed no contractor. He mentioned the projects as the construction of Municipal Health Insurance office, a court complex and the J.B Danquah Memorial Library. According to the MCE the assembly would focus on infrastructural development, revenue generation, capacity building and education, adding that the assembly would ensure the completion of all on-going projects for the benefit of the people.

He urged the assembly members to be vigilant and help fight galamsey operators that have shifted their attention to the area to prevent the degradation of the environment. The Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa North, Professor Twum Amoako, urged the assembly to step up its revenue generation for the year.

He said to ensure that development projects were prioritized; he had formed committees in every community to be inaugurated soon to identify and educate him on the needs of the people. Professor Amoako said in that direction every assembly member was expected to be on the committee, including representatives from the chiefs, and all the political parties for a fair distribution of developmental projects for the constituency. The MP for Abuakwa South, Mr Peter Atta-Akyea, said in order to ease transportation problems of the people, he had decided to use the $50,000 loan allocated to each MP to purchase a bus to augment the transportation system in the area.

According to him, Kyebi and the other towns in the constituency had no direct bus to Accra, hence the decision to purchase one. He indicated that the revenue to be accrued from the transport system would be used for social responsibilities. Mr Atta-Akyea urged government to arrest and prosecute galamsey operators in the area. 14 Aug. 09