Members boycott Assembly session

Wechiau (UW), Sept 10, GNA - Members of the Wa West District Assembly from the Dorimon Traditional Area boycotted the Second Ordinary Meeting of the assembly held at Wechiau on Thursday and Friday. The group, made up of six elected members and one government appointee, did not give any reason for its action.

Alhaji Issahaku Hassan, the Presiding Member, said the action of the "Dorimon Group" was believed to be a protest against the endorsement of Mr Daniel Dari Kunsugno as the District Chief Executive whom they have opposed since his nomination by the President. They have been insisting that since the district capital has been sited at the Wechiau Traditional Area, the position of DCE must necessarily come from the Dorimon Traditional Area as a way of ensuring justice and fair play.

They, therefore, decided not to accept Mr Kunsugno who hails from Lassia-Tuolu in the Wechiau area as their DCE.

The second session of the meeting, held in public to afford the citizens of the area the opportunity to participate in the deliberations through an open forum, was also used to inaugurate Phase Two of the Ghana Accountability Improves Trust (GAIT) programme in the district. GAIT Two is being funded by USAID and focuses on strengthening District Assembly capacity for Democratic Governance, improving sector advocacy and increasing community advocacy for and contribution to quality education.

Inaugurating it Mr George Hikah Benson, the Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, said the objectives of GAIT programmes were prerequisite for good governance and accelerated development of the new district.

He appealed to the chiefs and people of the area to be patient in their expectations while the government laid the foundation for accelerated development of the district.

Mr Benson said plans were advanced to connect Wechiau and other key villages in the area to the national electricity grid. Mr Kunsugno said in an address read on his behalf that the assembly had received almost 1.2 billion cedis as its share of the Common Fund for the first quarter of this year.

Under the District Wide Assistance Project (DWAP), the assembly also had 700,000 million cedis to undertake various projects in the health, education and sanitation sectors.

The Deputy Regional Minister later presented five Suzuki bikes, 10 bicycles, 10 wheel burrows, 10 dustbins and shovels all valued at about 100 million cedis to the area councils within the assembly to facilitate their revenue mobilization and sanitation programmes.