President John Mahama
The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) was on Tuesday inaugurated with a reminder to ensure that physical development in the metropolis is properly supervised and regulated.
Lieutenant General Seth Kofi Obeng (Retired) of the Office of the President said it should do everything to tackle unplanned and haphazard development – slums growing up in marshy areas and houses built in waterways.
The Town and Country Planning Department, Survey Department and the Lands Commission must play their respective roles effectively, for the right things to be done.
He asked that they strictly adhered to rules and regulations relating to the allocation of plots and to see to it that plots were developed in accordance with their designated land use.
That, he said, was necessary to remove the danger of flooding and the associated loss of lives and destruction of property anytime it rained.
The newly-inaugurated assembly, is made up of 91 elected and 44 appointed members with the 10 parliamentarians in the metropolis, as ex-officio members.
They would serve for a four-year term.
Lt. Gen Obeng used the occasion to draw attention to problems of environmental sanitation and asked the assembly to take appropriate steps to address these.
It should apply the same enthusiasm with which it had successfully built schools and clinics, markets, water facilities and electricity extension to protect the environment.
He noted that laws existed to deal with environmental health issues and encouraged the assembly to enforce these.
“Where your Assembly has environmental problems which are not already covered by law, it is your duty to make appropriate bye-laws and ensure their enforcement”, he added.
He also underlined the need to focus on revenue generation to speed up the socio-economic development of the metropolis.
Oheneba Adusei Poku, Akyempimhene, asked the assembly members to work with unity of purpose to achieve the assembly’s development goals.
