Prestea town roads have been awarded for rehabilitation at a cost of 4.52 billion cedis and renovation of its market at 861.2 million cedis is about 80 per cent completed.
Mr. Emmanuel Kwasi Ayensu, Wassa West District (WWD) Chief Executive said this when addressing the first session of WWD Assembly at Tarkwa. He said construction of Tarkwa lorry park at one point five billion cedis is also about 90 per cent completed, adding that these are developments, which fall under Urban V Project.
Mr. Ayensu said the district has started reaping some of the benefit of HIPC initiative. He said the first instalment of 500 million cedis given to the assembly is being used in the construction of 10 hand-dug wells fitted with pumps and four 16-seater aqua privy toilets while two refuse containers have been refurbished.
Mr. Ayensu said several developments are being carried out under various programmes including Village, Infrastructure Projects (VIP) and WWD assembly's own initiative. He said out of the projected revenue of seven point nine billion cedis (c7.9b) for 2002 the assembly was able to generate six point three billion cedis (c6.3b) representing 79 per cent.
On the expenditure front, Mr. Ayensu said the total expenditure for 2002 was 5.4 billion cedis. Touching on the poverty alleviation programme Mr. Ayensu said, the assembly had disbursed 290 million cedis since the beginning of last year and 90 million cedis is ready to be given to be beneficiaries. He, however, expressed worry about the rate at which the loans are recovered.
Earlier in a speech, Mr. Ben Asabil, Presiding Member of WWD assembly told the assembly members to regularly revise the assembly handouts in order to become conversant with the assembly's proceedings.
He said the government's goal of effecting positive change could only be achieved in the atmosphere of peace and stability and therefore, advised the assembly members not to involve themselves in chieftaincy and land disputes but rather champion the cause for peace.
