Absence of Department of Urban Roads deprives Wa of ?4bn

Wa, Nov 24, GNA - Wa lost almost four billion cedis in respect of road projects that should have come to the municipality this year because of the absence of an office for the Department of Urban Roads in Wa.

Therefore, the Wa Municipal Assembly has rented a two-bedroom apartment for use as office and residential accommodation for the staff of the department to be posted to Wa.

Mr Mac Adams Banda, the Wa Municipal Chief Executive, said this at the first ordinary meeting of the assembly at Wa on Wednesday. ''The accommodation has been accepted by the Department of Urban Roads who are expected to start full operation in January next year.'' Mr Banda said the rehabilitation of Wa streetlights costing 160 million cedis was progressing steadily.

The assembly is putting up a new assembly office block, two bungalows and is rehabilitating and refurbishing the present assembly block from its share of the common fund.

He said the assembly had assessed 3.9 billion cedis out of its share of 5.2 billion cedis for the year.

Touching on revenue mobilization, Mr Banda said as at July the assembly had collected a total of 884.6 million cedis out of an estimated target of 2.7 billion cedis.

The assembly has taken delivery of 25 television sets for distribution to schools in rural communities to enhance distance learning. Mr Ibrahim Seidu, the Presiding Member, said the assembly had allocated 195 million cedis out of its common fund to enterprising groups.

Mr Hikah George Benson, the Deputy Regional Minister, urged the assembly to deal with the problem of sanitation and its management. It should also deal with the putting up of unauthorized structures and lawlessness by motorists and pedestrians as well as the menace of stray animals.