Cape Coast, Dec. 18, GNA - The Central Region Development Commission (CEDECOM) is in collaboration with the German Development Services (DED) and are mounting sensitization programmes to promote good governance in the region.

Consequently, it has organized a capacity building workshop for traditional rulers, opinion leaders and unit committee members to assist them to build strategic plans for their communities. Mr. Spencer Taylor, the acting Executive Secretary of CEDECOM, said this at a workshop organized by the Central Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) for media personnel in the region. The workshop was aimed at highlighting the achievements and the challenges encountered by the various departments, ministries and agencies in the region in the past 11 months.

He said five communities have as a result drawn and presented their development plans to the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly to be incorporated into its development plan. Mr. Taylor said the Commission was established with the objective to ensure the total development of the region and would continue to evolve measures to provide a good environment for the accelerated growth of the private sector.

He said it was also promoting the region as the prime investment and tourism destination and therefore was vigorously marketing its tourism and investment products to the world and was optimistic that the Commission would receive funding in the coming year for it to fulfil its mission. Brochures, publications and a web-site have been made available to expose the potentials of the region to attract investors, he said. On enterprise development, Mr. Taylor said it has been providing management training for small scale entrepreneurs to build their capacity, while it has also made available soft loans as part of measures to help boost such businesses. He said last week over 400 entrepreneurs were trained in four districts including Gomoa East, Effutu and Mfantsiman to sharpen their skills and that in the coming year more attention will be on agricultural development.

Mr. Stephen Opoku-Tuffuor, Regional Director of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA, said financial provision had been made under the Local Service Delivery and Governance Programme for the Agency to build 105 boreholes.

He said 50 had been sunk while 85 of 150 boreholes also under the government of Ghana financed project had been completed in the region. The Regional Commander of the Police Service, Deputy Commissioner of Police Akayire Kamparah, said indictable crimes increased this year compared to last year's figures.

He appealed to the public to assist the police in crime combat, particularly this Christmas for a peaceful celebration. On education, the regional Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Education Service, Mr. Emmanuel Kwofie, said of the 336 teachers who applied for study leave only 199 were approved because in most cases the subjects applied for were not relevant to teaching at the basic level. Other departments that briefed the media were the department of Feeder Roads, the Ghana National Fire Service, and the Regional Planning Coordinating Unit of the RCC.

The regional Minister, Mrs Ama Benyiwa-Doe, commended the media, traditional rulers and the heads for their cooperation that has contributed to the successes chalked since her assumption of office early this year. 18 Dec 09