By Godfred Aaneamenga Polkuu, GNA
Paga (U/E), Aug. 27, GNA – A total of 7,114 beneficiaries under the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) in the Kassena-Nankana West District will be registered.
The National Household Registry under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection was undertaking registration of all LEAP beneficiaries and households in non-LEAP communities across the district.
Mr Stephen Aeke Akurugu, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for the area, disclosed this when he addressed the first ordinary meeting of the Assembly on various sectors of the economy in the district.
He said the registration exercise would be used to reassess and qualify LEAP beneficiaries for the next window, effective September 2025 saying, “We encourage Assembly members to pass the information to their communities to take the exercise serious.”
Touching on sanitation, the DCE said poor management of solid waste had emerged as a major challenge for the district, noting that problems such as the absence of proper disposal site, insufficient waste bins, and widespread open defecation were critical issues in the district.
He said the Environmental Unit of the Assembly had proposed several strategies including the identification and removal of unauthorized dumping sites, education of communities and schools on proper waste disposal practices.
Mr Akurugu added that as part of the strategies to further address the challenges, the Assembly would procure waste containers for institutions and prosecute persons who flouted by-laws on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).
He said the Assembly in its effort to confront issues of solid waste management, successfully evacuated the solid waste accumulated at Chiana, Sirigu and the Kandiga markets.
Addressing issues of education, he said the district had a student population of 25,658 from the Kindergarten (KG) to the Senior High School level with a deficit of 1,350 teachers.
“This calls for urgent attention and I will, therefore, engage the Regional Directorate of Education to consider posting more teachers to the district,” he added.
The DCE acknowledged the support of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in both the health and education sectors.
He mentioned that the Engage Now Africa, an NGO, in collaboration with the Atiyorum community and the District Education Directorate, constructed a KG, Primary and Junior High School blocks in the community.
He said a six-unit classroom block was constructed at Ayagitam Primary School at Chiana, while several classroom blocks with axillary facilities under the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) were at various stages of completion.
On school feeding, Mr Akurugu said the programme had resumed in earnest and indicated that “It is refreshing to note that all the 69 public basic schools with a total population of 16,594 pupils are now enjoying the facility.
“It is important to also announce that all cooks and 103 caterers have been successfully screened by health professionals and certified to cook for the pupils,” the DCE said.
Mr Akurugu, Akurugu who is also the Chairman of the District Security Council (DISEC), said even though the district was relatively peaceful, there were certain areas with land and chieftaincy disputes, which required resolution.
He said the DISEC was actively engaging with the communities to ensure that peace prevailed.
“I want to use this opportunity to plead with all Assembly members to champion the course of peace and report any suspected issues that could lead to the breach of peace, to the security agencies for immediate action”, he said.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali /Kenneth Odeng Adade