Story: Samuel Duodu, Goaso
THE Asunafo North District in the Brong-Ahafo Region, with Goaso as its capital, has within a space of three-and-a-half years, witnessed massive infrastructure and human development.
The fast rate of progress has added more impetus to the decentralisation concept in the district.
The district, formerly known as Asunafo District, was split into two, namely Asunafo North and Asunafo South, in 2005 by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Administration under President J. A. Kufuor.
The aim of the split of the district was to enhance effective administration, ensure the speedy development of all the communities and to further bring good governance to the doorsteps of the people.
The Asunafo North District Assembly has through the use of its share of the District Assemblies' Common Fund (DACF), the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) and internally generated funds and support from development partners initiated a number of viable development projects since 2005, with the aim of improving the living conditions of the people.
Some of the projects have been completed while others are at various stages of construction.
The projects, which are spread across the length and breadth of the district without discrimination on political lines, cover education and health infrastructure, water and sanitation facilities, reshaping of feeder roads in cocoa-growing communities and extension of electricity to some rural communities, among others.
To ensure that the people in the district derive the maximum benefits from the government’s programmes and policies aimed at developing the human resources of the country and wealth creation, among others, the assembly is sponsoring a number of students at various nurses and teacher training colleges.
Some of the youth in the district have also been engaged under the various modules of the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP).
For law and order to prevail in the district to enable the residents to go about their daily activities peacefully, the assembly is constructing a new police barracks for the district capital at a cost of GH¢148,717.
It had also converted all pan latrines at the barracks into water closets (WC) at a cost of GH¢3,922.60.
Some of the completed educational facilities are a six-classroom block for the Akrodie Methodist Primary School, a three-classroom block each for Tipokrom, Goaso Roman Catholic School, Aniape and Akrodie Junior High schools, while others at Mim, Kasapin, Pomaakrom, Brodedwo, Kojo Addaikrom, Bediako basic schools, among others, are nearing completion.
The Mim Secondary School has also benefited from the construction of a five-unit classroom block at a cost of GH¢45,600.
Besides, the assembly has distributed furniture to schools throughout the district at a cost of GH¢9,000.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic after an inspection tour of projects in the district, Alhaji Ishak Abubakar Bonsu, the District Chief Executive (DCE), said since he took office in 2005, he had worked tirelessly to ensure that the government’s vision to improve the living conditions of every Ghanaian became a reality.
He stressed that interventions such as the School Feeding Programme, fee-free education, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) would be some of the legacies that the NPP government under President Kufuor would be living behind for the people.
Alhaji Bonsu said since education was the key to the development of every society, the assembly was laying much emphasis on that sector.
He stated that the assembly had been supporting the annual best teachers awards programme in the district.
According to the DCE, three basic schools in three communities in the district namely Odurokrom, Tweapease and Akwaboa Number 2 were currently benefiting from the School Feeding Programme while about 200 students were being sponsored by the assembly in the various teacher training colleges.
Under the NYEP, Alhaji Bonsu said, the assembly had sponsored a total of 277 youth to learn vocations such as bee keeping, grasscutter rearing, soap, dressmaking, hairdressing and oil palm extraction, to enable them to become self-employed.
He added that more than 500 youth had been engaged under the teaching, auxiliary nursing, sanitation and agriculture modules under the NYEP in the district, while the community protection unit component was yet to be rolled out in the district.
The DCE stated that power was being extended to communities such as Asuoadea, Asumura and Nyamebekyere under the rural electrification project while the Goaso township had benefited from a street lighting project.
On the provision of clean and safe water, Alhaji Bonsu, said the assembly had sunk 53 boreholes in a number of communities in the district at a cost of GH¢268,662 while 27 existing ones and 30 hand-dug wells had been rehabilitated at a cost of GH¢483,120.
He said Akrodie and Mim had also benefited from the Small Towns Water Supply System at a cost of GH¢720,000.
The DCE disclosed that a 64-year-old mountain refuse dump which posed a serious health problem to the people at Goaso, had been evacuated at a cost of GH¢93,833.
The space created as a result of the removal of the refuse dump, would be developed into a lorry park.
Alhaji Bonsu stated that the assembly was rehabilitating some feeder roads in the district at a cost of GH¢153,676 to open up the cocoa-growing areas to enable the farmers to transport their farm produce to the marketing centres.
They include the seven-kilometre Kumaho-Achacha-Kumaho Junction feeder road and the seven-kilometre Kwame Pua-Kojo Addai-Abidjan feeder road.
Alhaji Bonsu said the assembly was also using portions of its internally generated funds for the construction of 50-capacity market sheds at Akrodie and 32 of such sheds at Ayomso at a total cost of GH¢50,000.
He added that the assembly and the German Technical Co-operation (GTZ) had jointly created an industrial site for the district at the cost of GH¢32,801.
On health, Alhaji Bonsu stated that the assembly was constructing an office complex for the District Mutual Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) at Goaso at a cost of GH¢76,395, while a dental clinic and nutritional centre attached to the Goaso Government Hospital and a rural clinic and a ward at Adiembra had been completed.
The DCE urged people in the district to take advantage of the congenial environment created by the government through the district assembly to improve their lot.
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