Increase in industrialisation and provision of services are pushing the Shama District Assembly (SDA) in the Western Region steadily, from a rural beginning into an urban setting, and, may soon have a municipal status.
Statistics from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) indicate that, with a land area of 193.7km and a population of 81,966, according to the Population Housing Census(PHC)2010, Shama with an annual growth of 3.2 percent, has over the past 10 years, now has a population of 117,224, a margin of 70 percent.
“The 70 per cent margin of growth isvery important. It shows that Shamais steadily moving towards amunicipal status due to urbanisation. The populationis 65.5 percent urban and 35.5 percent rural, with 48 percent being males and 51.20 percent females,” the District Planning Officer (DPO), Alhaji Mahama Abu, has predicted.
He made the remarks when he spoke on benefits of the SDA model of accountability and domestic revenue mobilisation interventions at Friends of the Nation (FON) stakeholders’ engagement on fiscal justice at Shama on Thursday.
“The statistics onsectors by employment show that agriculture is 32.4 percent, industry, 28 .4 percent and services 39.2 percent. This means that we are gradually moving from the rural into urban status where industry and services are becoming key drivers of the economy in the district and this is very vital for revenue mobilisation,” Alhaji Abu further stated.
“It also means that services is chasing agriculture and we are also industrialising the more because of the attraction ofmore investment to the district,” he added
The DPO noted that the SDA partnerships on accountability, revenue mobilisation and social justice were yielding benefits, hoping that“this must be sustained.”
Alhaji Abutold the participants that the District Medium Term Development Plan(DMTDP 2018-21)proposedan improved planning and revenue mobilisation and enhanced stakeholders’ engagement based on needs assessments.
He mentioned that stakeholders’ engagements were held in four areas to discuss revenue issues, while accountability boards were also erected for citizens to examine the benefits they got from the social interventions executed with the Internal Generated Fund (IGF).
“We formed a market committee, rate assessmentcommittee and quarry committee with the involvement of the Assembly members. Quarterly rate payers’ forum were held, we reassigned revenue collectors to avoid familiarity and nepotism and drafted a market development blueprints. The diversification of revenue sources was also done,” Alhaji Abu added.
He said “Our vision is to become the preferred gateway to the Western Region with enhanced economic opportunities within a good governance system. SDA exists to improve living standards of the people through the provision of quality socio-economic infrastructural services.
The Acting Queenmother of Shama, Nana Gyamfuaba II, applauded FON for the support and partnerships it had given to SDA over the years, and noted that, the accountability boards were providing open governance to the people.
“We still need to deepen the processes and ensure that more people understand what we are doing on domestic revenue mobilisation so that they pay for tolls we need for development,” she stated.
FROM CLEMENT ADZEI BOYE, SHAMA
