The Minister for Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development (MLGDRD), Honourable Dan Kweku Botwe has called out the Okaikwei North Municipal Assembly for praise over its budgetary allocation towards curbing perennial floods in the Municipality.
He noted that the Assembly has made provision from its Common Fund and the Internally Generated Funds (IGF) to desilt drains as a giant move to reversing the trend.
“I am very impressed with Okaikwei North, that’s what we expect all Assemblies to do…”
Honourable Botwe added: “I am impressed with what you have done, I think this is the Assembly that we have gone that they have mentioned this.”
He continued: “It’s important to emphasize that the Assembly on its own is not waiting for some support from World Bank but they have planned to do that”.
The Minister who is also the Member of Parliament for Okere Constituency in Eastern Region said this when he interacted with some officials of the Assembly on Tuesday during a working visit to beneficiary Assemblies in Greater Accra under the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID).
Mr. Kwame Brefo-Boateng the Chief Development Planning Officer in a presentation said the Assembly has budgeted some GH¢360,000 from the Common fund and GH¢100,000 from IGF for dredging and desilting works in the Municipality.
He indicated that the beneficiary communities have also been sensitized on how to manage their solid waste in order not to choke the gutters.
However, Mr. Brefo-Boateng disclosed that community participation in sensitization programmes and dumping of refuse into drains remain a key challenge to the Assembly.
Accompanied by some officials of the Ministry, the Minister toured the Achimota and Kisseman GARID Projects sites to inspect the progress of work.
Also on the inspection tour was the Municipal Coordinating Director of the Okaikwei North Municipal Assembly Mr. Benjamin Armah and Heads of Departments.
GARID is a World Bank funded Project to improve flood risk and solid waste management.
The project grant which costs $200 million is to improve access to basic infrastructure and services in the targeted flood prone low-income communities in the Greater Accra region and is benefiting 17 Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies (MMAs) with 2.5 million people.
Source: onma.gov.gh
