The Deputy Greater Accra Regional Minister, Ms Elizabeth Sackey, has urged members of the Ayawaso East Municipal assembly to enforce compliance in sanitation management to maintain a clean environment.
She said the President’s vision of making Accra the cleanest city in West Africa would not materialise if the assemblies did not monitor environmental service providers and solid waste collectors to ensure that they discharged their duties effectively and efficiently.
Ms Sackey said this at the inauguration of the Ayawaso East Municipal assemble on Monday in Accra.
The first attempt to inaugurate the assembly on January 23 was rescheduled following disagreement over the number of government appointees.
According to her, section 12(3) (f) of the Local Government Act 2016 (Act 936) specifies that assemblies shall be responsible for the development, improvement and management of human settlements and the environment in the districts adding that, the act empowers the assemblies to make bye-laws to address issues of waste management, licencing and monitoring of the environmental service providers”.
Ms Sackey lamented the unplanned and haphazard development resulting in slums being developed in marshy areas and water ways and charged them to be up to the task and support the assembly to effectively enforce rules and regulations in the development of land.
“It is your duty to support the assembly to ensure that lands are developed according to approved plans and designated land users to avoid flooding and accompanying loss of lives and property and as well as take decisions to streamline and reduce the period for granting building permits to potential developers”, she added.
She urged them to devise special client sensitive approaches to mobilising resources devoid of challenges to the rate payers adding that “the Internally Generated Fund (IGF) should be possible to increase allowances paid to members.”
The minister charged them to also use their election to sensitise the electorates on government’s flagship programmes to promote the transformation of the lives of the people through effective provision of social services, agriculture, industrialisation and skills development.
Ms Sackey urged them to use social accountability tools to establish strong linkage between duty bearers and the citizens.
The Municipal Chief Executive Hajia Salma Sani Mohammed Adams commended the pioneer assembly members whose effort and devotion to duty had transformed the assembly over the last three years ago.
“We were faced with numerous challenges including poor infrastructure, congestion, poor drainage and chocked gutters but with the massive support of the assembly members substantive successes have been chalked,” she added.
She congratulated the newly elected members to partner the pioneers and collaborate and work to transform the lives of the people.
“We must put personal and political interest aside because the assembly work in non-partisan and champion the course of government and the assembly”, she added.
By Lawrence Vomafa-Akpalu
