Ahafo-Ano North approves 2008 budget

Tepa (Ash), Jan. 7, GNA - The Ahafo-Ano North District Assembly in Ashanti has approved its 2008 annual financial estimate amounting to 1,709,383.20 Ghana cedis.

Of the amount, 82,943.20 Ghana cedis would be internally generated while the remaining 1,626,440 Ghana cedis would come from the Central Government.

At the Assembly's last sitting in 2007 at Tepa on Friday, it agreed to spend 722.20 Ghana cedis of expected revenue on 28 projects and 235,100 Ghana cedis to support eight ongoing projects. The new development projects include provision of furniture for 10 basic schools; construction of teachers' quarters at Manfo; construction of market sheds at Asuhyiae and Betiako; purchasing of low tension poles for communities under the self-help electrification programme; support for the district mutual health insurance scheme and acquisition of land bank for development projects.

Other projects were tourism development; construction of Divisional Police Headquarters at Tepa and the reshaping of some selected feeder roads.

The Assembly resolved to take legal action against estate developers, who put up building without permits and relevant building documents. Speaking at the meeting, Mr Kwame Owusu Frimpong, MP for Ahafo-Ano North Constituency, urged the Assembly to motivate its revenue collectors to enable them to collect more money to assist it to improve on its internally generated funds, which was one of the criteria used for determining an Assembly's share of the District Assemblies' Common Fund. Mr Owusu Frimpong, who is also the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Environment and Science, appealed to the Assembly Members to team up with the personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service to intensify campaign on prevention of bush fires, especially during the harmattan season.