Nadowli(UWR), July 5, GNA - Members of Nadowli District Assembly have elected Mr Callistus Sunyeri Haruna, a 40-year-old teacher as their Presiding Member at the first ordinary meeting at Nadowli. He polled 48 votes with three against him after four other contestants withdrew from the elections and pledged their support for Mr Haruna to maintain unity and enhanced development in the district. Mr Caesar Kale, Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, commended them for their sense of unity, solidarity, competency and quality performance in the deliberation on development in the district. He urged the assembly members to cooperate with Mr Abu K. Kansangbata, Nadowli District Chief Executive to accelerate development in the district.

Mr Kale appealed to people in the district to pay their taxes to enable the assembly improve on its revenue mobilization to undertake more development projects. He announced that Government would no longer make upfront deductions on the District Assemblies Common Fund without consulting assembly members, because available statistics indicated that upright deductions on the fund without consultations had created financial difficulties for most of the assemblies. Mr Kansangbata pledged to run an open administration to embrace all manner of persons irrespective of their religious and ethnic considerations.

He said his topmost priority was to collaborate with other stakeholders to fight poverty, diseases, illiteracy and improve the living standards of the people. Mr Kansangbata promised to continue with all development projects that were initiated by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the benefit of the people. He urged all heads of departments, agencies and development partners operating in the district to draw his attention to challenges they would encounter at their various work places for the assembly's assistance.

Mr Haruna said punctuality to work, welfare of the assembly members and total development of the district were some of his priorities. He said he would ensure development projects were provided upon request by the various communities. "In the past some development projects were provided for the people which they did not need therefore, they did not show interest or owned up the projects," he said. 05 July 09