STMA gets over two million to finance some dev’t projects

The Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly has received over two million cedis from the Urban Development Grant (UDG) to undertake eight projects next year.

Capt Anthony Cudjoe (rtd), the Metropolitan Chief Executive, said the draft for the eight projects developed by the Assembly’s Works Department had been submitted to the UDG secretariat for approval.

At the third Ordinary Meeting of the Third Session of the Sixth Assembly at Sekondi, he said funds were allocated to the Assembly because it’s scored 88 per cent during the 2012 UDG assessment.

When approved, the monies would go into the construction of two-storey eight-unit classroom block with library, offices, store and toilet facilities, a library complex, health post, procurement of one backhoe, completion of the Metropolitan Health administration block, construction of six-unit classroom block and fish smoking and processing facility.

Capt Cudjoe said the Assembly was also given 40,000 dollars as capacity support fund to address key public financial management areas such as budgeting, reporting and auditing, revenue management, asset management and social accountability.

He said the Assembly would soon contract consultants to provide services to enhance revenue and asset management and explore the potential of projects that could be funded under the Public/Private partnership.

Capt Cudjoe said the assembly collected GHC 2,981,833.51 out of the projected GHC3, 586,800.60 and that the assembly would tackle collection challenges of mobility, logistics, training and motivation of revenue collectors in order to improve revenue mobilization in 2014.

On street naming and property address, the MCE said the metropolis has been 70 per cent covered.

Captain Cudjoe acknowledged the contribution received from the Global Communities, an NGO in the areas of property revaluation and documentation, street naming and property addressing.