Creation of separate district not the answer-DCE

Winneba, June 9, GNA-- The new District Chief Executive for Awutu-Effutu-Senya, Mr Solomon Kwarshie Abam Quaye, has advised chiefs and people of the Awutu Traditional Area to discard the idea of having their own district.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview at Winneba after his confirmation as DCE, Mr Quaye said his administration would not encourage the creation of a separate district for the Awutus, as some interested groups in the area had been advocating over the years. Mr. Quaye, who is also the assemblyman for Bawjiase-Central Electoral Area, said it was not true that revenue that the Awutu-Effutu-Senya District Assembly generates from the Kasoa and Bawjiase markets are used to develop the District Capital, Winneba. The DCE made it clear that the assembly's internally-generated revenue constitutes only 15 percent of its annual income, and it is mainly used for administrative purposes and not for development projects.

"As far as I am concerned, what I know is that, the assembly had over the years, being relying solely on its share of the Common Fund (CF) to implement its development projects," Mr Quaye stated. "It was therefore, wrong for any person or group of people in the district to perceive that monies which the district assembly mobilize from the Kasoa and Bawjiase markets were utilized for developmental activities in Winneba," he stressed.

Mr. Quaye appealed to individuals and groups in the Awutu Traditional Area who are clamouring for separation, to collaborate effectively with their brothers and sisters in Effutu and Senya Traditional Areas so that, collectively they could device programmes to augment the assembly's efforts to better the socio-economic conditions of the area.

The DCE said, with his confirmation, his immediate assignment would be to patch up the differences among members of the district assembly, the technocrats and other stakeholders in the district, to ensure effective and efficient teamwork at all levels of administration. He said, "this is time we have to unite and foster closer ties with all stakeholders in the district to push the various developmental agenda of the assembly forward."

On the long-standing dispute militating against the smooth running of the new Kasoa market, Mr Quaye said he would soon initiate moves to resolve the problem once and for all. Mr Kwesi Esseku, Presiding Member of the Awutu-Effutu-Senya District Assembly, assured the new DCE of members' preparedness to co-operate and offer him the needed support to enhance the socio-economic, cultural and political development of the area.

Mr. Esseku reiterated the call on members of the assembly to do away with ethnic and partisan sentiments and approach their national assignments with a new sense of commitment and vision for better results. The Presiding Member reminded the assembly members of the need to embark on regular sensitisation of the electorate on the importance of tax payment to strengthen the assembly's revenue mobilization machinery.