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The Ga West Municipal Assembly in collaboration with the Chiefs and Queen Mothers Association in the Municipality, have introduced a self-help project geared towards the development of the municipality.
Speaking in an interview with the media, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Clement Nii Lante Wilkinson, declared that the initiative is to complement the efforts of the government in promoting equitable development in the assembly.
He noted that the self-help project would thrive mainly on funds generated from contributions of people resident in the 17 electoral areas of the Ga West Assembly.
He disclosed this on the sidelines of a meeting to discuss the development and welfare of the assembly with the Ga West Chiefs and Queen Mothers Association, Residents and Land Lords Association and Assembly Members.
“[This meeting is] to discuss development in the area. We have a very large area about 480 kilometres in the area. Just about 10 per cent of our roads have been tarred which I think we can do something on our own so we have called the Residents Association, the chiefs, and Assembly Members to jaw-jaw, to come together and discuss how we are going to do that [development].”
“If you get to the community a lot of people do things that you will be surprised. They can buy trips of sand to fill up some potholes and other things so, why don’t we come together so that we stretch our hands to the other people and if everybody is supporting us, we can do what we call self-help projects in the community. So, this is the reason why we have called the chiefs and resident associations to discuss with them and make sure if it is possible for us to do it and they have agreed already. It is good news to them.”
Mr Wilkinson explained that some residents of their own volition find ways of resolving some developmental challenges within their areas thus the need to create a platform that pools all resources together to resolve some developmental issues without waiting on the government.
He clarified that the move is not to take over the duties of the central government but rather constitutes a ‘quick fix’ to pertinent problems in the society that the assembly can handle at their level.
“We are always with the government but we need to support the government. Roads, for instance, government alone cannot build all the roads for us and we as residents should support the government and we are going to benefit”
“Someone would ask a question that we are already taking taxes from them like property rates this one is a self-help project, it is not about the taxes. The assembly and the community are doing something together”
The MCE concluded that he and his team would engage the various communities to sensitize them about the initiative to win their support
“We have to go round and tell them why we want to levy some people or all of them to support. Ga West now is a community that people love to come in but, if you see how our roads, our schools and other things are we need to support each other. So the assembly is supporting the chiefs and the chiefs are supporting the residents and the residents are supporting the assembly as well so it goes round, it comes together then we move.”
