By Mildred Siabi-Mensah
Takoradi, Oct. 28, GNA – The Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) has intensified sanitation operations, community security interventions and disaster preparedness measures to enhance public safety and environmental health across the metropolis.
Mr Frederick F. Faidoo, Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), said the Assembly had cleared longstanding waste heaps, improved waste collection schedules and reduced incidents of overflowing communal containers through intensified sanitation operations.
He said this in his sessional address at the Assembly’s third general meeting in Sekondi, where he outlined interventions undertaken since the previous meeting in July 2026.
Mr Faidoo said the Assembly had also organised clean-up exercises in collaboration with community leaders, market associations and youth groups to promote environmental cleanliness and encourage community participation.
To improve waste collection and disposal, he said the Assembly had secured a temporary arrangement with a private service provider for an additional skip truck and restored its heavy-duty backhoe loader to full operational capacity for drain desilting and waste evacuation.
He said operational improvements had also been undertaken at the engineered landfill site to enhance waste disposal and vehicle movement, while managers of communal container sites had been engaged on approved operating hours, site cleanliness and compliance with franchise agreements.
On security, the MCE said the overall situation in the metropolis had remained largely peaceful and stable, attributing the development to the efforts of the Metropolitan Security Council, the Ghana Police Service and other security agencies.
He said collaboration with Assembly Members and security personnel had been strengthened through community patrols, intelligence sharing and the monitoring of suspicious activities.
Mr Faidoo said the Assembly had also intensified the installation of streetlights in selected areas to improve visibility, deter criminal activities and enhance public safety, particularly at night.
On disaster preparedness, he said the Assembly, through the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and other relevant agencies, had strengthened response mechanisms through safety inspections, structural hazard assessments and training programmes for Community Disaster Volunteers.
He said collaborative clean-up exercises had also been undertaken to address flood-related hazards, while public education and enforcement activities had been intensified against excessive noise pollution, reckless motor riding and other public nuisances.
Mr Faidoo said relief items, including rice, cooking oil, mattresses, soap, detergents and maize, had been mobilised and distributed to 65 persons affected by the recent fire outbreak at the Albert Bosomtwi Sam Fishing Harbour.
He said the intervention was intended to alleviate the hardship of affected persons and support their recovery efforts.
The MCE said the Assembly had also joined the global community in commemorating the 2026 United Nations International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction under the theme: “Resilience Starts at Home.”
On international cooperation, Mr Faidoo said the Assembly participated in the 2026 Local Governance Exchange and North Rhine-Westphalia-Ghana and West Africa-Germany Municipal Partnership Networking Meeting held in Bonn, Germany, from September 28 to 30.
He said the meeting reviewed progress under the Sekondi-Takoradi-DĂĽsseldorf partnership, including the establishment of a German Language Centre, smart agriculture initiatives through AgriBiome, skills development and administrative and technical exchanges.
According to him, discussions also focused on waste management, flood prevention, artificial intelligence, e-governance, youth empowerment and entrepreneurship development.
Mr Faidoo said priority areas identified for future collaboration included capacity building in urban planning, project management, monitoring and evaluation, flood management and youth participation.
He said the Assembly had outlined infrastructure, and equipment needs, including a skip loader, wheel loader/backhoe, solar-powered lighting systems, 20 tricycles, drainage improvements and an artificial intelligence server.
The agreed roadmap, he noted, included the installation of Starlink infrastructure at the Assembly by the end of 2026, commencement of skills training programmes in March 2027 and the submission of an infrastructure and equipment project application in June 2027, with implementation targeted for the end of that year.
Mr Faidoo said the German Language Centre was officially opened at Takoradi Technical University on September 30, 2026, through a partnership involving the Assembly, the university, GIZ and other partners.
He said the centre was expected to equip learners with German language skills for opportunities in further education, vocational and technical training, internships, research and employment.
The MCE urged Assembly Members to publicise the initiative among young people, students, graduates and other residents seeking to enhance their skills and career prospects.
Mr Faidoo said the Assembly’s 2027 Draft Annual Action Plan, Composite Budget and Fee-Fixing Resolution were being presented for consideration at the meeting.
He urged Assembly Members to offer constructive suggestions to improve the proposals and help address the development needs of the metropolis.
Mr Faidoo called for stronger cooperation among Assembly Members, staff and other stakeholders as the Assembly prepared for 2027, saying collective commitment remained essential to achieving its development objectives.
GNA
Edited by Justina Hilda Paaga/Lydia Kukua Asamoah
Reporter: Mildred Siabi-Mensah