Upper East Minister tells Bolgatanga Assembly to make public funds count

Upper East Regional Minister Donatus Akamugri Atanga has challenged the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly to show residents clear value for the public money it spends and to finish projects already under way.

He made the call at the assembly’s accounting-to-the-people session in Bolgatanga, according to Graphic Online. The forum gave Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) Roland Atanga Ayoo the platform to report on the assembly’s spending and development work.

The Minister said local authorities must turn development resources into real benefits in education, health, sanitation and roads. He also encouraged residents to hold duty-bearers to account by asking how public funds are used and how projects are progressing.

What the assembly says it has delivered

Presenting the assembly’s report, the MCE listed work across several sectors:

Education: a two-unit classroom block with a four-seater KVIP toilet and urinal at Yorogo; a JHS block with washroom facilities at Agusi, funded from the Common Fund; and 896 pieces of school furniture.

Health: CHPS compounds at Sawaba and Tanzui, rehabilitation of the Daporitindongo health centre, and a completed health facility at Kolibia under the SOCO project.

Water and sanitation: 20 boreholes, ten sanitation exercises, the clearing of ten refuse dumps and rehabilitation of the public toilets at the Bolgatanga Market.

Roads and drainage: road openings at Bukere, Durongo, Sumburungu and Yorogo, a new culvert at Sumburungu-Nayere, repairs to the Hippala culvert and desilting of the Tindon-Molgo Dam.

On social protection, the MCE said 1,128 beneficiaries of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme received about GH¢3.14 million. A further GH¢223,732 went to 105 persons with disabilities and five disability organisations.

Why it matters

Accounting-to-the-people sessions are meant to give residents a direct chance to question their assembly on spending and project delivery. The figures presented are the assembly’s own and have not been independently verified.

Road safety remains a live issue in the municipality. Residents of Sumbrungu, on the Bolgatanga–Navrongo highway, have voiced frustration over delays in installing speed ramps after a crash on October 25 that killed two people, according to A1 Radio.

Source: Graphic Online — https://graphic.com.gh/news/politics/ghana-news-make-public-funds-count-upper-east-regional-minister-to-assembly.html