LAUNCHING OF SUNYANI MUNICIPAL EDUCATION ENDOWMENT FUND

The Sunyani Municipal Assembly under the able leadership of Hon. Kwasi Oppong Ababio, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) has launched an education Endowment Fund to cater for brilliant but needy students in the Municipality at the Christ the King Chapel in Sunyani. It was on the theme “Education – our progress, our future”. In his welcome address the MCE said he took the initiative to establish the fund for the Municipality because since assuming office he has realized that there are a lot of students in the municipality who are needy. He continue “day in day out, people throng to my office to ask for money to pay their wards fees and so I decided to establish this fund to solve the problems of these young brilliant but needy students once and for all”. He asked the trustees of the fund to make sure that proceeds from the fund are used to help needy but brilliant students and not those from rich homes. He promised that the Assembly will at every quarter put GH¢10,000 of its share of the common fund into the Fund.

He ended by appealing to parents and guardians to take the education of their ways seriously because to him it is only education which is the key to success. He said “but had it not been education but other considerations like riches and handsomeness, I Kwasi Oppong would not have been an MCE”. The Deputy Regional Minister Hon.Eric Opoku who deputized for the

Regional Minister was full of praise for the MCE and the Assembly for the initiative which he said will go a long way to boost education in the Municipality and the country as a whole and help achieve the better Ghana agenda of His Excellency President Mills. He continued “If we could achieve a better Ghana, then education should be given a topmost priority”. He hinted that the government inline with its campaign promise to supply free exercise books and uniforms to school pupils has made available 718, 000 exercise books to be distributed to school pupils in the region.

He also said that Nkoranza Technical school which is the only technical school in the region is going to see a major rehabilitation and so will some secondary schools including Sunyani, Goka ,St. James Senior High Schools will also benefit from school buildings. He promised that his government has put a committee in place to see to the establishment of a university in the region as promised by Professor Mills. He donated GH¢5,000.00 on behalf of the regional minister to the fund.

The Sunyanihene Nana Asor Nkrawiri II said the fund has come to solve the problem whereby people stop schooling half way because of financial constraints. He advised that the Assembly put a bye-law in place to make sure that people in the municipality always contribute to the fund and that it does not become a one year affair. Nana Owusu Akyeaw, Abesimhene who deputized for the Dormaahene advised that the fund should not be politicized so that any government that will come will see the need to continue it. The Sunyanihene and the Dormaahene donated GH¢500.00 and GH¢1,000.00 respectively to the fund.

The Chairman for the occasion Mr. Prince Asante who is the Deputy Manager for Ghana Nut Limited replaced his senior brother Mr. Obed Asante the manager for Ghana Nut Limited thanked the Municipal Chief Executive and the Assembly for the initiative and pledge his company`s full support. He donated Two Thousand Ghana cedis (GH¢2,000.00 to the fund. Later on an appeal for funds was made and people including the school children donated generously to the fund. At the end of it all GH¢11,700.00 was realized as seed money for the fund. The fund has a six (6) member board of Trustees with Madam B.A Prempeh as the Chairperson. The rest are Mr. Takyi Arhin Treasurer, Mr. S.I. Sadrat, secretary and Nana Bofotia and Nana Kumi Achiaw as members.

The launching was very well attended as Chiefs, Heads of Departments, Workers, Assemblymen, School Pupils and the public went in their numbers to the Christ the king chapel to witness the good news. Entertainment was at its best as brass band and sound system music was provided and the school children danced their hearts out.

The school pupils of Abesim LA Primary and Junior High performed an educative play in which a man abandon his children’s education to engage in galamsey and their mother with the help of a pastor was able to educate them to be responsible people and the man was arrest for engaging in illegal galamsey to the admiration of the large crowd at the chapel.