Sissala West, Sissala East approve nominees

Gwollu, UWR, April 26, GNA- All members of the Sissala West District Assembly on Friday voted to endorse President John Atta Mills' nominee, Mr. Robert Wavei Baka, as its District Chief Executive.

The 21-member assembly voted unanimously to confirm Mr. Baka who was one time a District Secretary and a District Chief Executive in the PNDC/NDC regime for the then Sissala District. There were cheering and jubilation from NDC supporters, assembly members and sympathizers of Mr. Baka who poured powder on him when the Electoral Commission declared results.

Mr. Baka, in his acceptance speech called on traditional rulers to cooperative with district chief executives and helped mobilise the people to undertake development projects to improve their lives. He said there should not be differences between DCEs and Chief whatsoever because the development of the communities and the improvement of the living conditions of the people were their goal.

It was therefore imperative for the two entities to collaborate appropriately and effectively to initiate projects that would help address the socio-economic challenges of the people to overcome poverty, illiteracy, ignorance and diseases, Mr. Baka said.

Mr. Baka, who is also the Sissala East District Nutrition Officer urged chiefs to create an enabling environment for the DCEs to operate and complement each other's development efforts to provide the basic needs for the people. He said President John Atta Mills' call for a better Ghana would not be brought from somewhere to Ghana but that the people would have to work to make Ghana a better place to live in.

Mr. Baka expressed worry about the poor revenue mobilization of the assembly and promised to work hard to improve it, saying: "We cannot continue to depend on Common Fund to improve out lots". He also bemoaned the incidence of Fulani herdsmen and their cattle, whose activities he said were creating desert conditions in the district.

The wanton destruction of trees for charcoal and other fuel activities must also be given much attention to rejuvenate the environment, Mr. Baka added.

Mr. Mahmud Khalid, Upper West Regional Minister, appealed to the assembly members, chiefs and opinion leaders in the district to help track down smugglers of petroleum products across neighbouring Burkina Faso.

He said the activities of the smugglers were causing artificial shortages of petroleum products in the region and that must not be allowed to continue. Mr. Khalid appealed to people in the district to take sanitation and conservation of the environment issues seriously, saying the destruction of trees for charcoal must be stopped and efforts made to replenish the degraded environment.

At Tumu, members of the Sissala East District Assembly also voted 19 for Madam Alijata Sulemana and three against to approve her as the District Chief Executive. In her acceptance speech, Madam Sulemana appealed for support from the people to work together to achieve the development agenda of the district to benefit them. Madam Sulemana who is also a community developer expressed concern about the poor revenue generation of the assembly and appealed to the people to pay their taxes regularly and on time to enable the assembly to improve on its revenue mobilization.