Lawra, Sept 15, GNA - Mr Charles Bintim, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, has appealed to the top hierarchy of district assemblies to denounce bureaucracies that create barriers between them and heads of decentralized organizations.
This, he said, could be achieved through regular durbars where workers could be given the opportunity to air their views and share experiences that would enhance growth and development.
Mr Bintim said this when he addressed workers and chiefs of the Lawra, Nadowli and Jirapa/Lambussie District assemblies at separate meetings at the start of a three-day visit to the Upper West Region. He urged them to organize the meetings devoid of intimidations and harassment as that could scare the workers from coming out with workable and development oriented ideas.
The Minister said the government would revamp the Department of Community Development, Department of Births and Deaths, Department of Social Welfare and Department of Parks and Gardens to make the decentralization programme more meaningful and useful to the district assemblies.
Mr Bintim said under the Community based Rural Development Project, the World Bank had given 60 million dollars while France had also given 10 million Euros to build small-scale dams to boost agriculture throughout the country.
He appealed to chiefs to collaborate with assemblies to come out with projects that would be beneficial to their communities. Mr Bintim urged parents to take advantage of the Capitation Grant to send their children to school since it would reduce the burden of regularly paying school fees.
"The government is spending a total of 113 billion cedis on the payment of school fees for all basic school children.'' The assemblies appealed to the minister for more infrastructures, more core staff such as planning and budgeting officers and teacher training colleges to train more teachers to staff empty schools. They also complained of the new computerization programme of senior secondary school selection.
The minister inspected building projects and interacted with school children in some of the communities he visited. During his stay in the region, he would tour all the eight district assemblies and inspect building projects and address chiefs and people.
