Mr Alhassan Mumuni, District Chief Executive (DCE) of East Gonja said: “The decentralization system has it active point mostly at the Unit Committee and Assembly level so as new members the onus is on to you to identify creative and proactive people to collaborate with to manage the resources judiciously to improve the livelihood of the people.”
He was speaking at the inauguration of Unit Committees of Kpalbe in line with local government regulations to promote decentralization, grass-roots participation and accelerated development in the district.
The DCE led the about 50 Unit Committees from Dashei, Daboshie, Baullim, Kpansheigh, Fuu, Gbaun, Libi, Kpalibi and Kpalbusui to take the oaths of secrecy and allegiance.
He said he was fully poised towards implementing the government’s development plans and programmes under the ‘Better Ghana Agenda’ hence the urgent need for the assembly to put in place the necessary structures to serve as the engines for the realization of the set agenda.
Explaining to the members their roles and responsibilities as decision-making body of their local areas, he said, “You are the eye of this community and you need to work hard to improve the lives of the people”.
Mr Mumuni explained that the Legislative Instrument 1589 of 1994 mandates them to assist any person authorized by the assembly to collect revenue, recommend to the assembly the naming of all streets in its area of authority, ensure sanitation and cause all buildings along the street to be named.
Other functions, he said, included, organizing periodical meetings with community members to deliberate on the development of their areas as well raising funds for mini developmental projects.
The DCE reminded them to be disciplined, responsible, promote sanitation and also mobilize revenue for the assembly to boost development.
On revenue generation, Mr Mumuni said, there was the need to develop novel ways of raising funds since the District Assembly’s Common Fund from the Central Government was too meagre to satisfy the development needs of the over 550 communities in the district.
He assured them that 50 per cent of any revenue that would be generated from the electoral area would go to the Committee to support their local development programmes and also take care of the remunerations of the members.
Mr Mumuni cautioned them not to sabotage and downplay the assembly’s policies and efforts of mobilizing more revenue.
On recent developmental projects, he said, the Assembly had embarked on developmental projects in the areas of education, health, water and sanitation, improvement of roads infrastructure and electricity.
Mr Mumuni said the communities in the district would be connected to the national grid by 2012 under the rural electrification project.
GNA
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