Henry Quartey
As part of efforts to improve security in Accra, the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council (GARCC) has procured 20,000 streetlights to be distributed and fixed in all the electoral areas in the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the region.
Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, announced this when he addressed members of the Regional Coordinating Council at its first meeting yesterday in Accra.
According to the minister, the annual meeting is in fulfillment of section 191(1) of the local Governance Act, 2016, Act (936) which requires members to take stock and deliberate on issues pertaining to the MMDAs in their respective areas.
He said all the 20,000 streetlights will be shared among the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in the Greater Accra Region.
“My office is already collating a list of all the electoral areas to draw up an itinerary with the contractor who would be fixing the lights in your areas. I wish to request Hon MMDCEs and Presiding Members to offer the necessary support to the contractor once they are in your district,” he added.
The GARCC include the Regional Minister, as the chair, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), Presiding Members, Heads of Department from the various Assemblies, two representatives from the Regional House of Chiefs, and representatives from civil society organisations among others.
Most of the MCEs, in their presentations, mentioned that government Agenda 111 project was almost at 60 percent completion stage. They, however, expressed worry over the deplorable state of their roads due to the rains.
Though some few members gave a positive account of the payment of property rates in the Assemblies, majority of members suggested they were better placed to collect the property rates given the work done by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) so far.
The minister however charged MMDCEs to ensure efficient resolution of complaints of residents whose challenges are expected to be addressed at the local level. This notwithstanding, he said his office is inundated with several petitions.
The challenges, according to the minister, when addressed would “build trust and confidence of the citizenry in local governance and ensure the willful payment of rates and fees.”
Members of the various Assemblies in unison also agreed to restrict the movement of tricycles, popularly called ‘Pragya’ in the Central business district to help reduce continuous congestion.
Members present also agreed on a ban on the use of party paraphernalia during festivals, citing areas like Ada where festivals were held without security challenges in the last five years.
The areas include Ayawaso West Wuogon, Korle Klottey, Adentan, Ashaiman, Madina, TMA among others while areas such as Ada, Amasaman were exempted from the restrictions.
The Regional Minister, who also doubles as the Member of Parliament for Ayawaso Central, lauded the work of some of the MMDCEs for supporting the ‘Operation Clean Your Frontage’ agenda initiated by his outfit two years ago.
He was however displeased with the work of some of the MCEs and, therefore, asked them to take steps to push the sanitation drive further to meet government’s objective of making Accra clean.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah