Walewale (N/R) Nov. 26, GNA - The West Mamprusi District Assembly in the Northern Region mobilised a total revenue of 200,958,900 cedis as at September this year, representing 75 per cent of its 269,150,000 cedis projection for the year.

The District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Sulemana Nabila, announced this in his address at the General Meeting of the Assembly held in Walewale on Thursday.

The DCE said despite the Assembly's good performance in this year's revenue mobilization, there was the need to revamp it for the coming years.

He stated that in this regard, the Assembly together with other stakeholders, held a two-day sensitisation workshop on revenue mobilization for representatives of traditional rulers, Assembly members and Opinion Leaders to sensitise them on how to assist the Assembly in revenue mobilization.

This, he said, had led to the compilation of nominal roles of all taxable items, including bicycles and cattle, and called on Assembly members to continue to give their support in this area so as to beef up the Assembly's revenue position.

The DCE further indicated that with the introduction of the Capitation Grant, parents were now willing to send their children to school thereby increasing the enrolment figures in the district. He appealed to Assembly members to ensure that the Grants were put to good use since they were members of the School Management Committees in their localities.

Mr Nabila however, lamented over the performance of this year Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), saying the District dropped from 51 per cent last year to 32.2 per cent this year. He entreated the District Directorate of Education to come out with measures to help address the situation. He said the Assembly would continue to give the necessary support to improve human resource development since it was very essential tool to the development of the District and the nation as a whole.

On security, the DCE expressed disgust about Fulani herdsmen who were robbing and rapping women in the area. He said in October this year, the Assembly registered a number of Fulani men in the area and gave them identity cards. He said those caught without the ID cards would be punished. He impressed upon members of the Assembly to report the nefarious activities of Fulani herdsmen to the security agencies to be dealt with, emphasising that "the task of getting these criminals out of our area is a collective one".

The Presiding Member, Mr Mahama Osman, urged the Assembly members to explain the deliberations of the Assembly to their constituents, saying that they owned it a duty to inform the people in their constituencies about what transpires in the Assembly. He expressed dissatisfaction about the way some people, out of political sentiments, misinform their constituents about the activities of the Assembly and urged them to desist from this since the agenda of the Assembly was that of development and not partisan sentiment.

Mr. Osman further called on the Assembly members to encourage people in their constituencies to register for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) since it would help address their health needs. Members of the House stressed the need for the Assembly to base the award of contracts on merit and competence rather than on political grounds, since this often resulted in shoddy work. They also impressed upon the Member of Parliament of the area to get the Assembly informed on development projects he initiates with his share of the MPs' Fund to avoid duplication.