District Assemblies Urged To Reduce Dependence On Statutory Fund

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Julius Debrah has challenged Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to consider raising sufficient revenue to finance development of their areas, instead of relying on statutory fund. He urged the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCE) to consider adding value to the agricultural produce in their areas, to help raise the income of farmers and to create employment for the youth. Mr Debrah was speaking at the opening of a day�s sensitisation workshop for MMDCEs from Western, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra and Volta Regions at Koforidua at the weekend. The workshop which was attended by 109 MMDCEs was aimed at informing the participants about the economic situation of the country and measures that had been put in place to rejuvenate the economy. Mr Debrah asked the MMDCEs to ensure that their assemblies inculcate views of the people in their areas of jurisdiction in projects they implement. He said when the people realised that their concerns are taken care of by the assembly, they would be ready to offer the necessary support. Ms Nelly Mireku , Senior Economist of Ministry of Finance, assured the participants that the economic decisions taken by the managers of the economy could soon help change the economic fortunes of the country. Speaking on the indicators for a bright future for the economy, she said more oil wells are being discovered, which is an indication that soon the revenue from oil would increase. She said there are indications that soon the production of gas, would come on board and that could save the country the huge amounts spent daily to import the product. Dr Alberta Hagan of Bank of Ghana, said the fiscal policies of the Bank could not help achieve micro- economic stability without positive responds from the major players of the economy. He said the bank had reviewed the effect of the fiscal policies that it put in place four months ago to achieve micro- economic stability and this would be publish soon. The Deputy Eastern Regional Minister, Ms Mavis Ama Frimpong acknowledged the contributions of the MMDCEs to the economic development of the country and urged them to provide the necessary leadership for the development of their districts.