Residents of Koforidua have criticized plans by the New Juaben Municipal Assembly to build stores at the Children’s Park on the compound of the Rotary Kindergarten.

They said this could disrupt school activities and affect the education of the children.

The residents suggested the full development of the school and the compound into a park so that women selling in the central business area and those working in offices around the area could send their children to the school.

This came out during a town hall meeting organized under the Social Public Expenditure and financial Accountability (SPEFA) project funded by the World Bank through the Royal Netherlands Development Agency (SNV) and being implemented in the New Juabeng Municipality by 4H-Ghana, a non-governmental organization.

The SPEFA project is to promote grassroots’ participation in local governance and public accountability.

The residents said future development plan of the New Juaben Municipality should include projects for Adweso, Two Streams and Agavenya areas of the municipality.

Ms Safoa Wilson, a store keeper near Prince Boateng Roundabout, appealed to the Assembly to ensure regular desilting of the drains in the area to avoid the regular flooding of the place anytime it rains.

She said she had complained several times to the Assembly officials of the assembly had followed to see the problem but nothing had been done happened.

Responding to the issues raised, Mr Raindof Sambo, the New Juaben Municipal Coordinating Director, appealed to the residents to respond and attend all public hearings organized by the Assembly to enable them to get their inputs into the development plans of the Assembly.

He said the strong opinion the participants had expressed on the construction of stores at the Children’s Park would be taken into consideration in plans for further development of the place.

Mr Sambo said the drainage problem around the Prince Boateng Roundabout was a huge project which is beyond the resources of the assembly.

The assembly had referred it to a special agency that had come to look at it and are preparing the drawings for a project to be awarded on contract.

He informed the gathering that the Member of Parliament for New Juaben North, Nana Adjei Boateng, had decided to use his share of the District Assembly Common Fund for the construction of a new school block the Oyoko RC School.

Mr Appiah Kweku Boateng, the Chief Executive Officer of 4H-Ghana, called on the Municipal Assembly to put in place measures to ensure the functioning of the Zonal Councils to help the Assembly to mobilize resources for the development of the Municipality.

He said if the people in the Municipality would wait of the Assembly to provide all the developments required by the people, it would take a very long time and therefore appealed to resolve some of the developmental needs of their communities.