I Will Not Tolerate Political Interference - Oko Vanderpuije

Dr Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), has said the Assembly would not tolerate any political interference in its work. �We will not allow a person or a group of persons to hold us back in our developmental agenda of Accra,� he said. Dr Vanderpuije was speaking at a press briefing on Thursday when he returned to Accra with a 28-member assembly members and businessmen who attended the third annual 16-day exchange programme in Columbia in the US. They comprised 16 assembly members, 10 business men and women and two assembly staff. The programme was aimed at building the capacity of the assembly members in the best practices of city management and also to afford businessmen to establish business partners. Dr Vanderpuije said the AMA would seriously ensure that the people in the metropolis adhered to its bye-laws concerning unauthorized structures and indiscriminate dumping of waste. �President John Dramani Mahama attaches great commitment to sanitation and flooding in Accra and we will not afford to let him down by ensuring that the right things are done,� he said. He said the exchange programme had helped the assembly a lot in education, health and sanitation and had opened more opportunities for the rapid development and business in Accra. Dr Vanderpuije said the visit afforded them to have fruitful discussions with Exim Bank on some loans for the takeoff of the Conti Project to dredge the Korle Lagoon and building a recycling plant in Accra. Dr Vanderpuije expressed gratitude to President Mahama and President Barak Obama creating the enabling environment for the exchange programme which is part of the Millennium Development Goals.