Tema, Sept. 13, GNA - Ms Gloria Akuffo, Deputy Greater-Accra Regional Minister, has asked assembly members not to see the New Procurement Law as something that is going to inhibit their activities. Rather, she said, the law would prevent financial loss and enhance the quality of work in the various assemblies.

"Look critically at its positive side, so that we can work more efficiently to help move our assemblies forward".

Ms Akuffo was speaking at the opening of the First Ordinary Meeting of the Fourth Session of the Tema Municipal Assembly (TMA) on Tuesday. She stressed the need to strengthen the structures of the assembly by restructuring the various committees to help improve on the quality of work of members.

The Deputy Regional Minister charged members to remain united, and to share ideas and experiences to help move the municipality forward. She commended the assembly for gaining the recognition of being the cleanest city in the country, and urged members not to be complacent in achieving that status, but to make sure to improve upon it. Whiles cautioning the various industries in the municipality against polluting the water bodies, the Deputy Regional Minister charged assembly members to play the effective role of changing the attitude of their citizens concerning waste management.

In his sessional address, Mr David Quaye Annang, Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), announced that last year, the assembly was able to generate 24 billion cedis as its internally generated fund, as against 17 billion cedis in 2003.

Mr Annang said the assembly spends over 1.5 billion cedis a month as payment to waste contractors and said this has been a big drain on the Assembly and government.

He, therefore, urged assembly members to regularly educate their constituents on TMA's refuse collection rates and fees, as a means of getting them to make generous contributions to help improve sanitation. On health, the MCE regretted that the municipality still experiences a high level of maternal death rate, and said during the first half of this year alone, 27 of such case were recorded, attributing the main cause to the high increase to poverty. He disclosed that 680 million cedis had been allocated to the Assembly to provide financial support to needy women to cover their delivery fees.

The TMA, he said, will also continue to explore ways by which it can support the Municipal Health Directorate to improve upon its service delivery, adding that, discussions are also on-going to see how best the TMA Maternity Home can be managed for more effective and efficient service delivery.

Mr Annang hinted that the Assembly has plans to undertake rehabilitation works on some schools within the municipality, which are in various stages of disrepair, mentioning the Sebrepor Presbyterian Primary School, Gbetsile TMA Junior Secondary School, and the Tema Manhean Seventh Day Adventist School, as some of them.