By Emmanuel Gamson
Sekondi (W/R), Oct. 23, GNA – The Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) has developed a six-year Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) strategic plan to address disparities and challenges faced by communities in accessing clean water, adequate sanitation and hygiene facilities within the Metropolis.
The WASH plan, co-created in partnership with the Open Government Support (OGP) Unit, and Citywide Settlement Upgrading Fund (STMA-CSUF), was developed with the active involvement of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), traditional authorities, community leaders and other identifiable groups in Sekondi-Takoradi.
Mr. Abdul-Mumin Issah, the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), who announced this, said the initiative was made possible through a grant funding from the OGP Multi-Donor Trust Fund by the World Bank.
He was speaking at the opening of the Third Ordinary Meeting of the First Session of the Ninth Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly, held in Sekondi.
The meeting brought together Assembly Members and other stakeholders to deliberate on activities and projects of the STMA as at the end of the third quarter of the year, and review strategies for the next period.
Mr. Issah said the WASH strategic plan would among other things leverage interdisciplinary collaborations and adopt both top-down and bottom-up approaches to create resilient, inclusive, and sustainable WASH services tailored to the needs of low-income and informal communities within the Metropolis.
He noted that the plan was part of the Assembly’s broader measures put in place to address WASH issues which were fundamental to public health and socio-economic development in area.
Speaking on the financial standing of the Assembly, the MCE said as of the end of September, the STMA had been able to collect GHC12,174,404.93, which represented 62.19 per cent of the budgeted GHC19,575,416.70 of its Internally Generated Funds (IGF).
For expenditure, he stated that an amount of GHC717,872.16, representing 57.57 per cent of the budgeted GHC1,247,042.00 of the IGF had been used for compensations during the period under review.
Mr. Issah touched on other revenue sources and expenditure and said: “Notwithstanding the challenges in revenue generation, management remains committed to adhering to the
recommendations of the revenue improvement action plan in order to enhance our revenue fortunes as an Assembly.”
Touching on security, he noted that the Metropolis was enjoying relative peace, and that the Assembly would continue to provide support to the security agencies to ensure peace and security prevailed in the area.
On the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme, the MCE said between July and September 2024, the Department of Social Welfare collaborated with the Metro Office of the National Health Insurance Scheme to register 3,840 vulnerable people unto the programme.
“It is my pleasure to add that, as a significant step at improving on the quality of the programme through a reduction in the incidence of inclusion and exclusion errors, the government has laid out modalities for the reassessment of the LEAP programme.
“The exercise will seek to identify and determine the poverty status as well as eligibility of households that should benefit from the LEAP programme,” Mr. Issah added.
On the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections, he indicated that the Assembly would work closely with the Electoral Commission, the Western Regional Co-ordinating Council and the Police to provide the needed support to preserve the peace within the Metropolis before, during and after the election.
Speaking on health issues, the MCE disclosed that as at the end of the third quarter, a total of 18 maternal deaths with a corresponding institutional maternal mortality rate of 246/100,000 live births were recorded in the Metropolis.
Mr. Issah spoke on some development projects being initiated by the Assembly, and said they would continue to work to improve the living standards of the people of Sekondi-Takoradi.
Mr. Eugene F. Ofori-Atta, the Presiding Member of the STMA, urged the Assembly Members to be dedicated to their work and execute the Assembly’s policies to collectively bring progress within their communities.
GNA