The MCE for the West Gonja Municipal Assembly, Hon. Yakubu Yussif Castro, In his report at the 1st ordinary general assembly meeting of the 2nd session of the 9th Assembly, said he is honored to be reporting on issues to the house on the occasion of his maiden meeting as the MCE for the area.
The MCE ceased the opportunity to express profound appreciation for the massive one hundred percent support gave him during his confirmation as the Municipal Chief Executive of the West Gonja Municipality.
According to the MCE, it is in accordance with the Local Governance Act 2016 (Act 936), which mandates him to apprise Hon. Members on the state of their municipality, so that they will together review their performances, challenges, and strategize for the realization of their development goals.
On national development issues, he reminded all about the 24-hour economy promised by His Excellency John Dramani Mahama prior to the 2024 general election. He hinted that in fulfillment of this promise to the West Gonja Municipal, the Damongo daily market has been earmarked for a 24-hour market to kickstart the promise in the municipality.
According to him, project will include walling of the entire market, with two exits, a security post, fire station, a pharmacy/over-the-counter licensed chemical shop, and streetlights to enhance security and safety of traders. According to him, “The project design, which is uniform across the country, is completed and will soon be advertised for contractors to bid for.”
He also hinted at the government’s “Feed Ghana” initiative, which has the objective of creating jobs and ensuring food security in the country. He said it was the 2024 dry spell that hit the country that called for a pragmatic measure, hence the “Feed Ghana” initiative.
On security, the MCE said the municipality has been largely peaceful during the period of reporting. He said chieftaincy disputes that existed in the municipality have all been resolved. However, he indicated that there is a silent criminal in the municipality causing harm and needs the support of every stakeholder to minimize its impact on society, which is the frequent motor accidents.
He said in the early days of his administration, the assembly experienced a number of motor accidents that claimed lives, and there is a need to engage the Ghana Police Service and the National Road Safety Authority. He said the agencies undertook an operation resulting in the arrest of riders without crash helmets and minor riders, which brought sanity to the roads for a period.
He further expressed gratitude to traditional leaders for ensuring incident-free Damba celebrations in the municipality, namely Yagbon Damba at the Jakpa palace, Busunu Damba at Busunuwra palace, and Damongo Damba at Damongowura palace.
On internally generated funds, he said the assembly is projected to mobilize an amount of Eight hundred and seventy thousand, nine hundred and twenty Ghana cedis as internally generated funds for the 2025 fiscal year. “As at 30th August, the amount generated stood at five hundred and thirty-six thousand, six hundred and eighteen Ghana cedis and two pesewas, representing 61.62%.” This amount, he said, indicates that if they intensify their mobilization drive, they could achieve their target by the end of the year.
He hinted that the assembly envisages automating their revenue collection to prevent leakages and, in that regard, management is discussing with consultants to assist them in deploying Point of Sale Devices (POS) to make revenue collection effective and efficient.
The assembly has made significant progress in various areas, including agriculture, sanitation, health, and infrastructure development. The MCE concluded by assuring the Assembly that its development will be on point.
