Atebubu (B/A) Nov 11, GNA- Nana Owusu-Acheaw II, Omanhene of Atebubu Traditional Area in Brong Ahafo has commended the government for providing essential amenities including good drinking water in the area.

Nana Owusu-Acheaw said this when Mr. Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, a Deputy Minister of Information on the last leg of a weeklong tour of the region, paid a courtesy call on him on Monday.

Flanked by his sub-chiefs, Nana Owusu-Acheaw said the district popularly known in the country, as a deprived area has changed and that to the government deserves to be commended for providing water in most The Omanhene said water problem has considerably improved and we are grateful to the government, he added.

Nana Owusu-Acheaw, however, appealed to the government to provide an ambulance for the local hospital and an additional medical doctor to ensure effective health delivery.

The Omanhene appealed to the government to rehabilitate the Atebubu-Abease-Kintampo road to shorten the route to Sunyani. He noted that Atebubu district produces cassava on a large scale and is a major producer of cassava dough ("konkonte") and called on the government to provide the district with a cassava-processing machine to enable the people to contribute to the President's Special Initiative (PSI) on Cassava project.

To ensure effective dissemination and propagation of government programmes in the communities, Nana Owusu-Acheaw called for an information van in the district and the extension of electricity to towns without the facility.

Responding, Mr. Asamoah-Boateng said it was the government's plan to ensure that majority of towns and villages enjoy electricity and it was seriously considering the expansion of the Aboadze Plant, near Sekondi to supplement the Akosombo power.

He said the Ministry was already negotiating with officials of the Spanish government for the provision of information vans to ensure that information officers operated in the rural areas.

The Deputy Minister said his tour, which had taken him to the Central, Western and Ashanti regions had made him aware that the absence of the vans had deprived the people of knowledge about developmental projects pursued by the government.

The provision of the vans and the subsequent education of the people will help to counteract the lies being peddled by some people that the government has not done anything, he said.

At a meeting with heads of departments, organizations and staff of Atebubu District Assembly, Mr. Cassius Osei-Poku, District Chief Executive, announced that the government had selected 20 feeder roads in the district to be rehabilitated.

Mr. Osei-Poku said the programme, to be executed in phases, had already taken off on the Baya-Hiamankyene, Zamerama-Charambo-Krubo, Konkomba-Kajai, Patuda-Yaw Bruku-Jato Zongo and Fakwasi-Bompa roads. He could not tell off hand the cost of the project.

Mr. Asamoah-Boateng reminded the meeting that the proposed health insurance programme would take off in January next year and asked the people to help establish the district scheme for better health delivery. He explained that the District Mutual Health Insurance would become national in character as each registered member could be treated at any hospital or clinic in the country, provided where that member would receive treatment operated a scheme.

It is in the view of this that the government is asking each district or community to form a mutual health insurance to enable the system to be operated as according to plan, the Deputy Minister said. 11 Nov 03