By Laudia Sawer
Tema, June 29, GNA – The Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA), as of December 2023, has implemented 46 per cent of the overall activities in its 2022–2025 Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP).
Mr. Yohane Amarh Ashitey, the Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, disclosed this during the First Ordinary Meeting of the First Session of the Ninth Assembly of the TMA.
Mr. Ashitey said that despite the financial difficulties the Assembly faced in 2022, 144 activities, representing 92 percent of the 156 programmes and projects in the 2022 Annual Action Plan, were executed and at various stages of completion.
This, he noted, constituted 23 per cent of the overall activities in the 2022–2025 Medium-Term Development Plan (MDTP).
“The total number of programmes and projects in the 2023 Annual Action Plan was 160, out of which 147 activities, representing 92 per cent, have been executed and some are at various stages of completion. The remaining 5% have been rolled over for implementation in the year 2024,” he said.
He disclosed that about 54 per cent of planned projects and programmes were geared towards providing social services and infrastructure for the Tema Metropolis, covering economic development, social development, environment, infrastructure, and human settlement, governance, corruption and public accountability, and emergency planning and response.
He indicated that the TMA, with the collaboration of assembly members, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders and partners, would ensure that the implementation of the Medium-Term Development Plan spurred the growth of the metropolis.
Touching on environmental and waste management, the MCE said even though the assembly had over the years legislated bye-laws aimed at ensuring a cleaner and healthier environment, some residents continue to litter the environment with both solid and liquid waste.
“I am aware and have led various task forces for the past three years to restore some sanity to the environment, but more work needs to be done as a result of the attitude of our people. It is therefore a challenge and we must realise that we have much more responsibility at hand to ensure that successes chalked are sustained and built upon.
I strongly implore all and sundry to cultivate the culture of cleanliness in our homes, workplaces, public places, and in our everyday lives,” he said.
Mr. Ashitey said his outfit would collaborate with all the relevant institutions and agencies to embark on routine clean-up exercises within the metropolis, adding that they had already submitted their sanitation and clean-up exercise plan to the region as requested, and very soon vigorous action would be seen in the metropolis.
He announced that the assembly bye-law had finally been gazetted and expected to instill some form of discipline and ensure compliance by all residents of the Tema metropolis,
adding that the Environmental Health Unit of the assembly had also instituted measures to strengthen its prosecution of sanitation offenders.
He added that to improve waste management, the TMA had acquired seven tricycles, one refuse truck (skip truck), and two skip containers, noting that with coverage of the solid waste services system, out of 6,546 premises inspected, 2,523 premises were registered, with the approved solid waste providers.
He further said that a total of 2,193 registered households, representing 87 percent, were provided with the approved litter bins with fittings.
GNA