By Yussif Ibrahim,
Kumasi, Nov. 15, GNA – The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has presented 2,000 dual desks to five sub-metros for onward distribution to schools in the area.
This is part of efforts to address furniture deficits in the Metropolis.
Mr Samuel Pyne, the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), at a brief ceremony to present the desks, appealed to school authorities to prioritise maintenance of school property to protect government investments in education.
“It is important that while the Government does its part to invest in infrastructure, school authorities also oversee the maintenance of same,” he said.
He noted that many facilities, especially the ones the Government had constructed in many parts of the country, had been left to rot because authorities failed to maintain them.
The MCE, therefore, suggested that school authorities should, as a matter of principle, have a team to maintain the facilities provided by the state.
He said the Assembly was committed to investing in educational infrastructure, hence more funds would be expended on completing educational projects embarked upon by previous administrations.
“It is not wise to pump money into new projects when similar ones may be around begging for completion and usage,” Mr Pyne said.
“I have told my technocrats that I am not going to approve any spending on any new project when existing ones have not been completed.”
“I am determined to spend internally generated funds (IGF) and others on finishing projects, which were undertaken by my predecessors so we can have value for money spent.”
Mrs Judith Mensah Panford, the Head of Planning at the Metro Directorate of Education, receiving the desks on behalf of the Metro Director, commended the KMA for addressing a critical challenge in some schools.
She promised to supervise the use of the desks and other facilities the KMA was providing for the schools under the Kumasi Metro Directorate of Education.
“We are grateful to the Mayor for his thoughtfulness and the support from the Assembly and we promise that the desks and other facilities the KMA is granting to us would be taken good care of as we also determine to maintain same so they can last long for us,” she said.
Mr Patrick Frimpong, the Assembly Member for Krofrom, who doubles as Presiding Member of the Assembly, commended the MCE and KMA for carrying out huge investments in education in the five sub-metros in Kumasi.
GNA