VIP suspends Projects

Daboase (W/R), Aug. 14, GNA- The Western and Central Regional Zonal office of the Village Infrastructure Project (VIP) has indefinitely suspended projects such as the construction of roads and markets due to lack of funds.

Mr Tawiah Amprofi, District Chief Executive for Mpohor Wassa East said this at the fourth ordinary meeting of the assembly at Daboase on Thursday.

He said the VIP Zonal Office has, however, authorised the provision of water facilities.

Mr Amprofi said with assistance from the VIP, 33 hand-dug wells and eight boreholes had been sunk in some communities in the district and were yet to be fixed with pumps.

He said the assembly will soon retrieve loans from beneficiaries of the Poverty Alleviation Fund from 1999 to 2001.

He did not disclose the amount owed by the defaulters but said some of them would be dragged to court very soon.

Mr Amprofi announced that the assembly's allocation of the common fund for this year was 3.6 billion cedis and that there was an increase in the Assembly's allocation from 196 million cedis per quarter in 2000 to 854 million cedis per quarter this year.

He said the HIPC Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance had released 300 million cedis to the Assembly for the District Health Insurance Scheme.

Mr Amprofi said the scheme has not taken off in the district because of lack of funds for the initial social mobilisation programme. He said educational programmes would soon start in communities and called on members of the Assembly to play active role in the programmes when they take off.

Mr Amprofi said the executive committee of the Assembly had recommended that ten percent of all stool land revenues be set aside as Education Fund for Wassa citizens in tertiary institutions.

Mr Amprofi said a 10-km Kejebir-Mpohor road was being tarred and the regional tender Board has opened tender bids for the Aboade-Ayiem and Daboase Junction-Daboase roads for tarring.

He tender bids were also ready for the rehabilitation of Jerusalem Odumase-Ateiku-Osenso road.

He said the Assembly used 26 million cedis out of its share of the common fund to re-shape the Abotarye-Adansi stretch of the Shama Junction-Edaa-Wiredukrom road and that arrangements were being made to rehabilitate the road leading to the Domama Rock Shrine, which is a tourist site.

Mr Amprofi said 54 million cedis out of the 100 million cedis allocated to the District by the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs from the HIPC Fund, has been used in the construction and installation of cassava grating facilities at Sekyere Abroadze, Sekyere Adiembra, Kwaaba and Akotosu.

The remaining amount of 46 million cedis would be disbursed to women groups in the four communities as working capital, he said.