The Municipal Chief Executive of Akuapem North Hon. Dennis Edward Aboagye spearheaded a team made of some members of management to visit various communities within the municipality to get firsthand information on the needs and challenges of the people. The MCE was also using the trip to familiarize himself with the Chiefs and the people of the Municipality. This tour began on Tuesday 7th November and ended on Friday 10th of November 2017.
On 7th November, the first point of call was Okorasehene’s Palace where the Chief of the area, Nana Asare Kumi Ababio III lauded the team for the trip and said it was long overdue. He enumerated few challenges that are bedeviling the area. These include; the deplorable state of the township and community roads, the poor nature of Okorase market, inadequate but wrong sitting of toilet facility in the community and inadequate clinic facilities, equipment and logistics among others.
Nana Ababio III appealed to the MCE that the visit should not be a nine day wonder just like the previous administrations who offered lip services which did not yield much dividend. He pleaded that measures should be put in place to remedy the needs of the society.
However, the MCE in his rounds, had seen a number of the community roads in its deplorable state couple with the township market which need immediate rehabilitation as well as the community clinic that lack adequate logistics and personnel. More so, the community has only one toilet facility which is located close to the area Council and the clinic and it emits a strong stench rendering close by inhabitants uncomfortable.
The next destination was a cowshed at Osabene which was situated right at the centre of the community. The team was briefed by the opinion leader Dr. Ofori Sampson Badu that the cattle have been complete nuisance to the community albeit incessant efforts by the people to relocate the animals proved futile. At the time of leaving the scene, the owner of the shed was not around so the Chief Executive left a message behind to address the situation immediately before the Assembly expedite action on it.
At Kentenkere community, the team chanced on a dilapidated kindergarten facility when school was in session. The environment was unkept and unhealthy for the children’s health. The team was also told that the school had been under these condition for the past 6 years. The teachers appealed to the Municipal Assembly to help rehabilitate the school building. They also asked the MCE to help provide teaching and learning aids to enhance teaching and learning in the school. They pleaded with management to offer the school with School Feeding programme to help increase school enrolment since most of the children comes from less privilege and humble backgrounds and find it challenging meeting the three-square meals at home.
Finally, the day’s visit ended at Tei-Nkwanta where the team ended at a river at the outskirt of the community that requires a bridge. Later on, the Municipal Chief Executive met with the Chiefs and the people to interact with them. They pleaded with him to use his good office to get the community portable water, toilet facility and a refuse dump among others.
Again, on Thursday 9th November 2017, the team stopped over at Larteh where they were accompanied by the Assembly Members and some community members to inspect some developmental projects. These include schools, a gathering of physically challenged persons, road networks, refuse dumps, toilets and the community stream which serves as the only source of water for the people. The MCE also visited an old ICT block that was commissioned by the government of Ghana and the European Union but has been abandoned for years.
However, interaction with the people revealed most of their needs. These include provision of portable water such as borehole, drainage system, reshaping of the township roads, provision of toilet facilities as well as rehabilitation of existing ones. In another development, the team also visited Larteh Methodist Primary School. The school authority pleaded with the MCE to build a JHS to absorb the huge number of primary 6 pupils who migrate to various school around and even to Akropong and beyond. Hon. Dennis Aboagye promise to provide the needs of the community including rehabilitation of the old ICT block within the shortest possible time to enhance and facilitate teaching and learning of ICT.
On Friday10th November 2017, the Hon. MCE and his team toured the whole of Akropong to elicit responses on the needs of the community. This time round, the team inspected a number of the township roads that need reshaping. Both the works Engineer and the Urban Roads Engineer identified the need of repairs on the pathways and construction of gutters to pave ways for running water.
The team also stopped at a dam and community stream at the outskirt of the community which serves as the main source of water supply for the people of Akropong. The stream is contaminated as a result of garbage deposited into it by running rain water. The Municipal Chief Executive therefore promised to help increase a number of public standing pipes in the community to avert the possible outbreak of Cholera through patronizing the stream.
The next point of call was PCE Demonstration Primary School where the MCE interacted with the headmistress of the school. She was of the view that the school’s toilet facility is in a bad state which need immediate rehabilitation. She pleaded with management to help construct pillars to support some of the weak buildings as well as providing a playground for the school children. She recounted that a fence around a community transformer located right in front of the school is broken which serve as a threat to the school pupils.
Speaking to the Assembly Members and some few volunteers who took part in the exercise, the MCE pointed out that there is the need for effective implementation of the waste bin policy where every household in Akuapem North Municipality must own a waste bin. According to him, the policy has been formulated but yet to be enforced. He stated that backing the policy with law and implementing it with all seriousness would solve the sanitation needs of Akropong and all other communities in the municipality.
Finally, the team ended its Akropong trip when they stopped at an old mast in Old Akufotom which was on the verge of collapsing. However, after a short deliberation with the Assembly Members, it was unanimously agreed upon that a petition should be forwarded to the company concerned for its removal.
Credit
ISD
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