Techiman (BE/R) Nov. 4, GNA – Mr Kwasi Adu-Gyan, the Bono East Regional Minister, has directed Municipal and District Chief Executives (M/DCEs) in the region to enact and enforce by-laws to improve on the sanitation situation in the region.
He expressed concern about poor sanitation, which could lead to the outbreak of communicable diseases, saying the Assemblies required sanitation by-laws to address the situation.
Mr Adu-Gyan gave the directive when he addressed heads of departments and agencies and M/DCEs at a Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) meeting at Techiman, the regional capital.
He urged the M/DCEs to prioritize sanitation and security by ensuring that the welfare of the populace was guaranteed, saying section 181 of the Local Government Act 936, 2016 empowered them to enact and enforce by-laws.
The Regional Minister said ensuring proper waste management and a healthy environment required strict enforcement of by-laws to maintain environmental cleanliness.
Highlighting his vision for the region, Mr Adu-Gyan tasked the M/DCEs to concentrate on commercial agriculture and industrialization, human capital development, infrastructure and tourism.
He said the region had about 23,564 square kilometres of rich arable land and more than 70 per cent of the people were farmers, saying it was imperative to modernize agriculture through mechanization and technology systems by establishing commercial block farming to make farming attractive for the youth.
“It is my vision to make Bono East the rice hub of the country. We have the potential to do so and we must make the rice sector attractive for smallholder farmers and encourage the National Service Scheme, Nation Builders Corps and the Youth Employment Agency to invest in the sector,” Mr Adu-Gyan stated.
He said the region had more than 308 rice valleys, covering 32,000 hectares of land that could create direct and indirect employment for about 3,000 youth.
The Minister said the RCC intended to undertake a rice project that would create 9,030 farms and engage 500 skilled and semi-skilled workers at mechanization centres and create jobs for more than 100,000 people.
The project would produce about 125, 000 tons of rice and help reduce importation by 10 per cent.
GNA