Introduction
The Assembly exists to empower citizens to participate in making decisions that affect their welfare and also involve them in Governance processes in a decentralized and democratic environment.
Base on this, the District Chief Executive Hon. Yaw Danso decided to pay a working visit to all the communities in the district. During the visit, the Hon. District Chief Executive and his entourage addressed a durbar of chiefs and opinion leaders in the Bosomtwe East Area Council, Nsuta Area Council, Sunso Freho Area Council and Bosome Area Council respectively, on issues concerning the development of the District. He also took the opportunity to explain government flagship programmes and how the district would benefit from such initiative. He thanked chiefs and people for supporting the NPP to win the 2020 election and pleaded to them to do same in 2024. He also thanked them for supporting him on his appointment and confirmation as the District Chief Executive for Bosome Freho District despite many oppositions.
Introduction of Three (3) new departments in the District
The DCE made it known that through the hardwork of the Assembly, the district is now enjoying services of three new departments which have their offices in the district. These departments are Ghana Cocoabod, Ghana Ambulance Services and Commission of Human Rights and Administration Justice (CHRAJ).
He remarked that the district is now one of the cocoa districts in the country, where scaling and sealing is done in the name of Bosome Freho and not Brofoyedru and Bekwai as it used to be.
He added that the existance of Ambulance services in the district would boost health care by transporting referal cases to Kumasi and Konongo.
He took turns to educate all present at the durbar on the need to refer minor cases which mostly concerns the right of people to the District CHRAJ office and not take the law into their own hands.
Agenda III
The DCE was grateful to His Excellency the President of Ghana with regards to the introduction of Agenda 111 Project of which the district benefitted. He reiterated that the District was among the fortunate MMDAs which benefited from this flagship project, this will help solved the long awaiting problem of poor health care delivery in the district. He recommended Nananom for their support by giving out more than twenty- five (25) acreage of land for the project.
Planting for Food and Jobs
He explained how government want to tranform the Agricultural sector through Planting for Food and Jobs program. He encouraged them to take advantage of the program to increase their produce since there would be ready market for their produce. He indicated that crops like tomatoes, paper, mazie, rice,cassava among others were earmarked to be developed under the initiative. Seedlings and fertilizers have also been subsidized to encourage farmers to expand their farms thereby increased income levels.
Free SHS Policy
On Free Senior High School, he said Nana Akuffo Addo on his campaign platform, promised the people of Ghana to implement free SHS policy when given the opportunity. He indicated that the governement had fulfilled its promise by implementing the program. He remarked that the development of every nation depend on its education that was the reason government would commit resource to ensure that every child would have free secondary education. This initative would released bearden parents go through in raising fund for the payment of fees. He took opportunity to urged parents to take their children education seriously in order to benefit fully from the initiative. The Hon. District Chief Executive indicated that Bosome Freho Senior High was expecting about three hundred and fifty students (350) on admission but was informed that three hundred and eight students had been reported. Previously, schools in rural areas such as Bosome Senior High would get students after second term where the first class schools have rejected them. The benefits of the program includes school fees, uniforms,books, lunch for day students among others.
National Health Insurance Scheme
On National Health Insurance Scheme, he said the government was reviving the scheme to ensure that people can accessed free healthcare. He informed the people that the government is in the process of merging Ghana card and NHIS card, he adviced the People to comply with the process, if they have not done so. He stated that the government came to meet a huge debt which was making it difficult for the health providers to adminster proper health care to patients. The government was putting the necessary measures in place to pay all the debt so that the scheme would work again as it was in the time of fomer president Kuffour’s time. He also indicated that the NPP governmet has abolished the capitation scheme that was implemented by the previous government in Ashanti region. He informed that everyone can now accessed healthcare at any hospital nation wide.
Rehabilitation of roads.
The District Chief Executive remarked that one major challenge facing the district was poor road network. he said the Assembly had received request from various communities for reshaping of road. He assured the chiefs and people that although the cost of reshaping was very high but the Assembly would continued to reshape the roads in order to make it accessible. He said the Assembly would loby the Ministry of Roads in order to benefit from cocoa roads and also to follow up on the bitumen surfacing of Asiwa- Bekwai, Asiwa-Nsueam and Ankaase-Ampaha.
People Living With Disabilities (Pwds)
The director of Social Welfare and Community Development educated the people about the new guidelines for the disbursement of the Disability Fund. He said the vision of the government was to empower People Living with Disabilities in respect of the education, health and make sure that their livelihood is improved by proving them with setup items to make them self –reliance.
Revenue Mobilization
The District Budget Officer explained the importance of paying their taxes to the Assemby. He indicated that the Internal Generated Fund (IGF) was the only fund which the Assembly has control over it generation and utilization. He indicated that the revenue situation was improving comparatively due to measures put in place by management in the collection of revenue.
However, a lot remains to be done to enable the Assembly realized its full potential, there were still areas without revenue collectors, lackadaisical attitude on the part of some commission collectors. He reiterated that the Assembly has set up Revenue mobilization task force in other to help boost revenue in the district. He therefore reminded all members of the communities, to liaise with their Assembly members, Chiefs, Unit Committee Members and all key stakeholders in their respective communities to ensure that the District does not lose funds due to the Assembly.
In the course of interactions Chiefs and Elders and opinion leaders were given opportunity to ask questions, contributions and also developmental needs that required urgent attention. These requests include, reshaping of roads, construction of classroom blocks, boreholes, police station, cocoa spraying gang, extension of electricity, timely supply of inputs for Planting for Food and Job among others.
The District Chief Executive assured the people that the Assembly would address their concerns and also appealed to them to pay their taxes to enable the Assembly generate enough revenue to undertake these developments.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND REQUEST
After a thorough deliberation on the questions raised on the issues were done, these following pertinent request from communities were pushed forward for Assembly and Government continued support:
1.Construction of good roads to aid Socio-economic Development.
2.Construction of school infrastructure e.g. KG block
3.Construction of Fire Station.
4.Support for building materials to continue community initiated projects such as Classroom block, Police Station etc.
5.Establishment of additional SHS in the District.
6.Organization of community Fire Volunteers.
7.Construction of Police Post.
8.Supply of farm inputs and chemicals to fight against worms infestation.
9. The need for Agriculture Extension Officer to assist farmers.
DCE’S RECOMMENDATION
The District Chief Executive in his remarks, thanked Nananom and the community for the warm reception and even taken part on such a fruitful engagement.
He urged the community to count their blessings on the massive Socio-economic developmental initiatives the NPP Government led by Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo has been provided though there were a huge debt inherited that needed to be serviced. He charged them to take advantage of the Free SHS, Planting for Foods and Jobs and other on-going flagship initiatives by ensuring that the mission for such opportune investment by the Government were fully achieved. The Hon. DCE took the opportunity to politically recommend the community to reflect on the good works performed by the Government of the Republic of Ghana and fully rally behind him come 2024 elections to continue the good work for the nation.
CONCLUSION
The community engagement was initiated in accordance with the Local Governance Act 936 to foster cordial and peaceful relationship among the communities the Assembly is obliged to serve.
Nananom took the opportunity to interact with the Assembly for answers to issues they have been confronted with.
The Assembly was recommended for making the communities feel part of the governance and hope that in due time their request would be favorably considered for the betterment of their livelihood and the District as a whole.
