The Effutu Municipal Assembly in the Central Region has put in place measures to attain Open Defecation Free status by March 2019.

The Effutu Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), John B. Ninson, made this known when he addressed the second ordinary meeting of the Assembly at Winneba, during which its 2018 budget was approved, including a procurement and action plan.

The MCE said the Assembly will construct a 23-seater biogas toilet with ancillary facilities in the Municipality as part of efforts to end open defecation.

The Assembly will also construct toilet facilities along the coast and other areas in the Municipality.

These projects, Mr. Ninson noted, should help the Assembly to beat the June, 2019 target deadline set by the Central Regional Coordinating Council (CRCC) for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to attain Open Defecation Free status in the Region.

He said the construction of public places of convenience along the beaches would discourage the citizens from practising open defecation, and would also serve as the basis for prosecution of people who break the law.

The MCE said the CRCC had designed a criterion to check issues of sanitation, and therefore, urged the citizenry in to change their behaviour towards the environment and make their surroundings clean.

Mr Ninson announced that as at September 31, 2017 the Assembly had mobilized GH¢644,110.85 representing 75.96 percent out of the estimated GH¢848,000.00 of Internally Generated Funds (IGF) for the year ending 31st December 2017.

He disclosed that the Assembly received a total of GH¢769.471.91 as its share of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) for the first and the second quarters of the year.

“A total net amount received for the first quarter was GH¢355,846.31 and GH¢413,625.60 for the second quarter respectively after statutory deductions,” he stated.

On Physical development projects the Assembly is executing using the Common Fund, the MCE noted the construction of a 16-seater Aqua Privy Toilet and the Office Complex Block, which he said were at various stages of completion.

Under the Urban Development Grant projects, he said the Assembly was grading and opening up a 3.9km by-pass and U- Drains, which were about 45 percent complete.

The construction of five two-bedroom self-contained apartments which were about 55 percent complete and Nurses and Teachers Quarters with ancillary facilities were part also included.

Mr Ninson said under the Planting for Food and Jobs programme, which was one of the flagship programmes of the government, the Assembly had registered 150 maize farmers with 509.4 hectares as total acreage cropped area, and 45 vegetable farmers with a cropped area of 111.8 hectares.

He said under the programme, the Assembly received 2,545 fertilizer made up of 1,430 bags of NPK and 1,115 bags of Urea which were distributed to the farmers.

He added that the Assembly had also identified Cashew and Coconut as models to embark on, under the government’s Planting for Jobs and Investment programme.