SUNYANI MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLY HOLDS EMEGENCY MEETING.

The Sunyani Municipal Assembly on Friday the 18^th of June held an emergency meeting at the Assembly Hall. Welcoming members to the meeting, the Presiding Member of the Assembly Hon. Otu Essel said the emergency meeting was to enable members consider and approve a

supplementary budget of the Assembly. He thanked members for honouring the invitation in their numbers even though there was short notice to them.

In his short address the municipal Chief

Executive (MCE) of the Assembly Hon. Kwasi Oppong Ababio also welcomed members to the meeting and

reiterated the point by the presiding member that the meeting had become

necessary for members to consider the supplementary budget of the assembly so that the it can get its share of the common fund on time for developments.

He said the Assembly had a number of projects to undertake but needs money to carry them out hence the need for the emergency meeting for members to approve the budget.

The members were taken through the supplementary budget an d the FOAT by the budget analyst of the Assembly Mr. Godson K. Ehorke. At questions and suggestions time the Assemblyman for Abonsuam Hon. Raphael Cubage raised issues about the size of the new slaughter house being constructed at Kootokrom. He said the new slaughter house is too small and the cost for constructing it which was perched at GH¢75,000 is now GH¢107214.01 and said it is on the high side. This was collaborated by his colleague Assembly Members. Responding to the question the Municipal Engineer Mr. James Nunoo said the price has risen to that level due to price fluctuation of cost of building materials. This explanation still did not go down well with the Assembly Members so the MCE asked that a Technical committee be set up to look into it a

nd report back to the house for action which all the members agreed with.

The MCE was not happy about the conduct of some of the Assembly Members who approved th

e size and price of the slaughter house but are now shifting the blame to the former MCE Hon. Twumasi Awuah saying “Honourable Assembly members, let us always try to do the right thing and stop the blame game.” “Most of you were here when this project was approved, you kept quiet and closed your eyes and today you want to blame the former MCE, tomorrow if I am not here you will do the same to me and that is not good”. This reaction by the MCE brought dead silence to the hall for some time.

There was another controversy when the Assembly Man for Akokora Kwadwo electoral area Hon. S. K. Agyekum said he had unilaterally authorized the contractor wo

rking on the New Town 20 seater KVIP approved by the Assembly to 18 seater so that the two remaining setters could be used as another entrance to the toilet. His colleague Assembly Man Hon. Yaw Brenya apologized on his behalf and the MCE asked that the works committee investigate the matter and report to the house for action.

Assembly Members did not take kind to the fact that always when it comes to the training of Assembly staff the local government ministry will have to send people from Accra to the District in question to do it. “This frustration was expressed by Hon. Okoh Tetteh(Appointee Assembly man) when he said “Hon. PM if always people will have to be sent from Accra to train our assembly staff even if the District in question could get such people to do it, then where lies the Decentralization we claim to practice"?.

Responding the Municipal Finance Officer (MFO) of the assembly Mr.

Seth Appiah said “Hon. PM everything about our Decentralization is working perfectly but when it comes to finance there is a serious problem”. When it comes to money matters the Local Government Ministry will have to have a direct hand in it” “This is a policy issue and none of us down here can do anything about it”. “Maybe members can take it up there for us or one day when they become big politicians up there they may change it for us”. The meeting was very successful. Eighteen (18) members were present at the time of roll call.