Obuasi Municipal Assembly pledges to support community self help projects

The Chief Executive for the Obuasi Municipal Assembly, Elijah Adansi-Bonah has intimated that the Assembly has put in place measures to support community self initiated projects in the Municipality.

Delivering his sessional address at a General Assembly meeting held on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, the Obuasi MCE said community self- helps projects help to accelerate development at the grassroots and complements the Assembly's efforts in ensuring equal distribution of infrastructural projects.

Self-help approach is a mechanism where the community members by themselves, identify a need and mobilize resources to start for the Local Assembly to assist with technical advice, equipment and other support.

Briefing members of the Assembly from sector by sector the happenings in the Municipality, the MCE said the Assembly exceeded its projected internally generated fund revenue. Whiles the Assembly projected to collect GH 5,050,086.00 in 2022, it exceeded the revenue target by 111.72% raking in GH 5,642,060.53.

Adansi- Bonah attributed the improvement in revenue performance to the proactiveness of the IGF technical committee of the Assembly which he heads. He stated that the committee has managed to close loopholes hampering the efficient collection of revenue.

He also lauded efforts by AngloGold Ashanti in collaborating with the Assembly to access data and information of Sub- contractors working under the mining company.

"The move has enabled the Assembly issue business operating permit to the contractors which has contributed to the surge in IGF revenue", he said.

On education, the MCE said the Assembly has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology . The significance of the MoU was to officially hand over the facilities of the Knust-Obuasi campus to the University.

The University established in 2019 with about 300 students can now boast of over 2000 students. The MCE said the Assembly has released a 50 acre land at Nhyiaeso a suburb of Obuasi to KNUST- Obuasi campus for future expansion.

He said the Assembly in its resolve to promote quality education and ensure school children learn in a serene environment has initiated the process to procure school desks with metal frame to support public schools in the Municipality.

This he said will add up to the plethora of infrastructural development in schools in the Obuasi Municipality. Elijah Adansi-Bonah gave accounts of the projects undertaken in the past year adding that the Assembly has lined up series of projects which will be initiated in 2023 under UDG3 of the Ghana Secondary Cities Support Program.

He said the year will witness the construction of 400m(5*2.5) reinforced concrete drains at Mensakrom, Bituminous surface dressing of 1.2km Government Hill- residency road with 600mm u- drain, walkway, bollards, roadline markings and pavement of 1,500m parking space.

Again, he also mentioned the redevelopment of the Obuasi urban park into a multipurpose modern recreational park as part of the projects to be undertaken this year.

He said though his administration has been hit with several challenges, it has been able to forge ahead and surmount all the challenges culminating in the Municipality heading towards the right direction. He called for the support of the people of Obuasi for the Assembly to deliver on its mandate.