Some Assembly members at the Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) have opposed several projects listed under the Twin Cities in Sustainable Partnership project funded by the European Union.
The € 3milion project would have the STMA as the lead implementer with partners such as the Municipality of Palermo in Italy, Cooperazione International Did Sud (CISS), Ghana-Sicily Business Forum, and the Kumasi Technical University.
The project which was launched on Thursday, February 17, 2022, is aimed at enhancing the living conditions of people in the Metropolis.
The project funded by the European Union (EU), has a three–year activity timeline including multi-level urban governance to enhance urban governance towards green inclusive and culturally sensitive integrated development.
Another focus would be on culturally sensitive and inclusive urban strategies to stimulate inclusion for all and sundry particularly the vulnerable in society.
Apart from that, the focus would as well be on Urban Climate Change Resilience to contribute towards a sustainable and climate-resilient city.
However, some members of the Assembly have raised objections to the implementation of the project stating that about 95% of projects earmarked are insignificant.
Sampson Darko, an Assembly Member of the Asafo Electoral Area stated that all the areas cited to invest €3million are not necessary, hence leaders should rescind their decision.
He accused the leadership of the Assembly of misapplying funds generated internally at the expense of completing abandoned projects, also threatening to drag the Assembly to be investigated by the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
“The Assembly has not completed a single project they’ve started. All they do is misuse internally generated funds. They cannot boast of a single completed project and they want to start a new one? I am gathering enough evidence to drag these leaders to the Office of the Special Prosecutor,” he said.
The Assembly member for the Asemensudu Electoral Area, Osuman Ibrahim said, “What the people in Sekondi –Takoradi need is jobs, not the provision of social amenities like toilet facilities, plantation of 5,000 fruit trees, and the construction of two well-resourced youth-friendly reproductive health kiosks”.
Mr. Ibrahim called on the Assembly to focus on creating more jobs for the young because most of them embark on illegal migration to seek greener pastures in other countries. These young people, he said, travel to other countries to work with the skills acquired thus improving the economy of the country.
Another member for the Airport Ridge and Saw Mill Electoral Area, Michael Duku asserted, the Assembly member’s views were not sought with regards to areas of importance to be captured for the project.
“The project to be undertaken is for the benefit of electorates of the various Assemblies thus the views of the members should be taken into consideration. There are roads to be fixed, schools buildings to be completed, sanitation issues amongst others.
Assembly members are being taken for granted, and we would stop this project from seeing the daylight.
However, some Assembly members think otherwise of the project.
Napoleon Agyeman Oduro, Assembly member of Kojokrom was revealed that the project funding is mainly focused on Environmental and Climate stating “it is not out of place to plant a number of trees across the Metropolis to mitigate climate change”.
In a sharp rebuttal, Napoleon indicated that various Assembly members were consulted by the medium term plan developers to present pressing issues facing their communities but expressed shock as some Assembly members denied being contacted.
In his submission, Nana Acquah Baiden, Assembly member of Kojokrom Electoral Area also waded into the conversation on the project that awaits implementation.
He was of the view that the project is more of the environment where vegetable cultivation is done under unhygienic conditions.
