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Ashaiman Municipal Assembly calls for Completion of GETFUND Projects

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Authorities of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) have been implored to ensure the completion of projects the Fund initiates in districts.

The Fund which is mandated to provide funding to supplement government effort in the provision of educational infrastructure, has a high number of abandoned projects in various districts across the country.

Mr Michael Agyeman, Ashaiman Municipal Principal Planning Officer, who made the call said non completion of GETFund projects is a big worry to the Assembly.

Mr Agyeman said some of the projects have been abandoned for over 10 years and would.have to be demolished for new ones to be built to avoid endangering the lives of beneficiaries.

He made the call during a day’s engagement programme with residents organized by Penplusbytes, a non-governmental organization, with funding from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI).

He indicated that as beneficiaries, the Assemblies have no control over the selection of contractors and consultants and how they work on the projects.

According to him, due to this, the Assemblies have little or no control over what goes into the execution of the projects.

Mr Agyeman therefore suggested the decentralization of the Fund to ensure proper supervision and completion of projects to benefit schools in the district.

Touching on other projects, he said ASHMA was in the process of completing dormitories for the Ashaiman Senior High School, and a number of classroom blocks for public schools in the district.

He however stated that the Assembly had challenges including inadequate funds, irregular flow of district assemblies common fund, poor attitudes of contractors, and non-availability of land.

He also gave the assurance that his outfit has resolved to build disability friendly structures in the education and health sectors.

Mr Jerry Sam, Programmes Director at Penplusbytes, said the engagement was part of his outfit’s project dubbed, “Enhancing grassroots civic participation in governance using new digital tools”.

Mr Sam noted that the project was aimed at empowering citizens through digital tools to effectively participate in the local governance decision making process and promote better public service delivery especially in health and education.

The project, he said, would use online platforms mashed-up with mobile and social media as well as face-to-face activities to promote citizens’ voices and ensure their effective participation in decision making at the grassroots.

Source: GNA