Tamale, Jan. 17, GNA - Members of the Convention People's Party (CPP) in the three constituencies in the Tamale Metropolis have expressed concerned about the delay in appointing a substantive Metropolitan Chief Executive for the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, saying it was hampering progress.

They have therefore appealed to the President to present a new nominee for the position of a Chief Executive for confirmation to facilitate the formation of the relevant committees to ensure a smooth take-off of the Assembly.

The Assembly did not endorse the President's earlier nominee, Alhaji Iddrisu Adam, and he has since been acting as the Metropolitan Chief Executive.

A communiqu=E9 issued by the Tamale North, Central and South Constituencies of the CPP and signed by Dr. Abubakr Al-Hassan, a member of the Central Committee of the party at the end of an extraordinary meeting in Tamale, appealed to the President to nominate a candidate who would inspire the confidence of the people across the traditional divide.

The communiqu=E9 noted with concern the virtual collapse of the local agricultural economy and the attendant destruction of their livelihood, thereby perpetuating pervasive poverty and squalor among the majority of people in the area.

"This situation of hopelessness has not only fuelled the intermittent feuds reminiscent of Tamale but has also stimulated the mass exodus of the young women and men of the area in search of greener pastures to the southern part of the country", it said. To tackle the causes of the endemic poverty in the area, the CPP urged the government to give the necessary attention to the agricultural sector to make production attractive and profitable to farmers.

The members also expressed worry about whet they termed "casual" attention the authorities were giving to the water crisis in the Metropolis and suggested the laying of another pipeline from the White Volta at Yapei and an additional parallel line to augment the main pipeline at Dalun to help solve the water problem in the area. The communiqu=E9 urged the Metropolitan Assembly to provide clean source of water for vegetable growers, as well as educate food vendors on environmental and personnel hygiene to help reduce the incidence of insanitation and water related diseases in the metropolis.

The members appealed to the government and stakeholders in the health sector to improve infrastructure and equipment position in the Tamale Teaching Hospital to enable the personnel to provide quality healthcare delivery to the people.

The CPP was not happy about the general insecurity and the "biased delivery of justice" in the area and urged law enforcement agencies and the judiciary to be firm and fair to all to ensure peace. The communiqu=E9 said the members took note of recent developments in the CPP at the national level, especially efforts to unite the CPP and the PNC and tasked members of the CPP to commit themselves towards the success of the unity talks.