"Make District Assembles partisan" - People's Assembly

Suhum (E/R), April 15, GNA - Some participants at this year's People's Assembly held at Suhum in the Suhum/Kraboa/Coaltar District have suggested that the district assembles should be made to operate on partisan political basis.

They said the current trend of performance of some of Assembles was rather found to be on partisan basis and therefore, there was the need for them to officially operate on those partisan lines. The Minister of State in-charge of Tertiary Education, Ms Elizabeth Ohene, reacting to the suggestion, said though the districts assemblies served as grass root training ground for politicians, making them partisan would be a complex one.

She reminded them that any such change would need the amendment of the constitution and called on stakeholders of like-minded to undertake a nationwide deliberation on the issue and submit it for consideration by Parliament.

On what measures were put in place to check the exorbitant rent charges by landlords, Ms Ohene said any such complaints should be directed to the Rent Control Office for assistance.

She stated that the government's proposed 10,000-unit houses to be built for the low-income earners would, when completed, force the landlords and their agents to reconsider their actions.

Ms Ohene appealed to landlords to be circumspect in their demand for rent advances so as not to worsen the plight of the poor in society. The District Chief Executive (DCE) of Suhum/Kraboa/Coaltar, Mr Michael Kofi Mensah, urged the people not to rely on rumours to accuse DCE's of awarding contracts for their personal gains, as it had tended to ruin the reputation of innocent people. He said, there were various avenues opened to people to seek clarification on any issues concerning award of contracts and therefore, urged people to approach him or other DCEs freely for any clarification on the issue.

Mr Mensah, who outlined the performance of the Assembly over the past year and said the Assembly undertook a number of projects in the district, which covered education, roads, markets, water, health and sanitation, saying out of the projected revenue of 1.270 billion, the Assembly was able to generate 1.230 billion cedis.