By Isaac Newton Tetteh
Tema, May 30, GNA – The Tema West Municipal Assembly (TWMA) has held a town hall meeting to update residents on the progress of development projects made over the past year and outline key plans for the coming year.
Mr Ludwig Teye Totimeh, the Tema West Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), addressing the residents, highlighted key achievements in infrastructure, sanitation, education, and security within the municipality.
Mr Totimeh said the Tema West Municipal Assembly (TWMA) had made significant strides in improving road networks, expanding classroom blocks, and enhancing environmental health services.
He also used the platform to caution residents against putting up structures on waterways without the necessary approvals, stressing that such acts were a threat to public safety and would not be tolerated by the assembly.
“I want to remind all residents to seek proper approval before undertaking any construction, especially near waterways. The Assembly will not hesitate to demolish illegal structures to protect lives and property,” he warned.
He also appealed to the public to support the Assembly’s vision of transforming Tema West into a model municipality, indicating that residents must play their part by doing the right thing and paying their property rates and levies, adding that development requires resources, and such could be achieved through effective payment of rates and levies by the residents.
Mr Yaw Kpabil, Tema West Municipal Budget Analyst, emphasised the urgent need for improved rate payments, stating that although the assembly received some support from the central government and development partners, such funds were insufficient to meet the growing needs of the people.
Mr Kpabil further hinted that donor and government support alone could not sustain the level of development residents expect; therefore, internally generated funds, particularly from rates and fees, remained critical to bridging the gap.
The forum offered residents the opportunity to ask questions and make suggestions, with many expressing satisfaction over the assembly’s efforts, and called for more community engagement and transparency.
The town hall meeting forms part of the government’s broader decentralisation policy to promote accountability and participatory governance.
GNA
Edited by Laudia Sawer/Benjamin Mensah