Elmina, July 14, GNA - Metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies have been reminded that their administrations could be taken over by task forces to be set up by the government, if they fail to meet deadlines given them to improve their operations, in accordance with the Local Government Act.
Mr Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, who sounded the reminder, on Thursday, explained that although this had been stipulated in the Act since the inception of the assemblies' concept, it had not been enforced. He was addressing members of the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) District Assembly and heads of department at Elmina, as part of a five-day working visit to the Central Region.
The Minister also reminded the assemblies that priority in the provision of sanitary and other equipment would be given to those that performed well in their internal revenue generation and improvement of sanitation.
He said in addition, there would be "financial rewards" for such assemblies to carry out more projects and hinted that modalities for this were being worked out.
The Minister tasked the assemblies to put in their maximum efforts and "be eager" to seek development for their areas in order to whip up the interest of the youth to stay there and work to facilitate accelerated development.
He hinted that negotiations were on-going between the government and the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB) to ensure that communities within which tourists attractions were sited, were given a third of the revenue accruing from such attractions.
The District Chief Executive, Mr Frank George Asmah, briefed the Minister about programmes being pursued by the Assembly, emphasising human resource and infrastructure development and the youth employment programme.
During an open forum, some assembly members expressed their concern that the decentralization process was being hindered, as contracts for projects in the District were sometimes awarded in Accra and without due notification to the Assembly and that often, the "wrong equipment" was provided them to work with.
Mr Asamoah-Boateng later visited some project sites including a 1.7 billion cedi beautification and recreational facility at the Elmina Castle area and a 443 million cedi water closet (W/C) toilet project for the fishing community at Boatyard, a suburb of Elmina. He also visited the Benyadze Primary School where he witnessed the feeding of 600 school children.
Nana Kwamena WI II, chief of the town thanked the government for the programme and said school enrolment had improved since its introduction, with 10 more pupils enrolled just on Wednesday. The Minister also paid similar visits to the Gomoa, Mfantseman and Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa districts.
