Osu Mantse Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI will launch a Community Development Fund (CDF) to tackle maternal and infant mortality, youth in agriculture and sanitation in Osu.
He told Adom News the focus of the Fund is to reduce maternal and infant mortality to zero, boost the fishing business for the youth and also improve sanitation in Osu.
Nii Kinka Dowuona VI noted that even though the seat of government is in Osu, the development of the town is nothing to write home about.
He said the retardation of Osu was partly because previous chiefs and elders had looked up to the government and politicians to provide development projects, which never came
“Gone are the days when we looked up to the government to do everything for us – we are taking the bull by the horn to improve our community for the benefit of our youth,” he said.
Nii Kinka Dowuona VI noted that “the fishing business in Osu is virtually collapsed but we will provide the necessarily incentives to revive it.”
On sanitation, he said the fund will construct a three storey community toilet facility to cut down on defecation at the beach and other unauthorized areas.
“We are launching the fund in the first week of October and we expect our sons and daughters home and abroad, development partners, donor institutions, businesses operating in our community and even government to contribute into it,” he said.
He says the days when politicians and development experts held seminars to decide how Ghanaian communities are developed should be over, adding that chiefs are the eyes of the community so funds for community development should be lodged with chiefs.
Nii Kinka Dowuona VI assured prospective donors to the Fund of strict accountability and transparency in the application of funds.
“We will be open for scrutiny by our benefactors to ensure that every pesewa put into the Fund is properly accounted for,” he said.
This laudable initiative comes at a time when chiefs and elders in the Ga State have been accused of leaving the development of their communities to government because Accra is the seat of government.
Some chiefs have been even accused of selling Ga lands to fund their luxurious lives, whiles their people remain jobless and poor.
Meanwhile chiefs of areas like Ashanti Kingdom, Abuakwa State and Osogli have set up huge development funds to provide for their people in the areas of education, energy and environment.
ENDS
