West African Gold Fields, a mining company at Tarkwa in the Western Region, is to produce 300 tonnes of salt annually at Adina in the Volta Region.

Mr Linus Koffie, Ketu District Chief Executive, announced this when he addressed the Ketu District Assembly at Denu.

He said the company had already obtained concessions from the Minerals Commission for business to commence.

Mr Koffie, who did not state when production would begin, said the company would construct a jetty at Adina to facilitate the docking of its cargo vessels mainly from Nigeria to transport the salt.

On defaulters of the Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF), Mr Koffie said five defaulters would be prosecuted before the Aflao Circuit Court next week to send signals to the others to pay up.

He said so far only 141 million cedis, being about 30 per cent of the money loaned out, had been paid back.

Mr Koffie said 259 million cedis, representing 83 per cent of targeted revenue for January to May, was realised and noted that revenue in Agbozume and Dzodze markets had gone down after the collection had been privatised with the aim to increase it.

Therefore, the assembly's revenue base would be overhauled to ensure effectiveness.

He said the Executive Committee of the assembly had agreed to set up a civilian anti petroleum smuggling taskforce to curb the increasing level of the smuggling of the products to Togo. Mr Koffie, however, did not say if the security agencies taskforce, which had been on the ground for more than 18 months now had failed.

He said the construction of a market at Afife and the Ohawu Dam under the Village Infrastructure Project (VIP) at a cost of 860 million cedis was in progress while two 24-seater water closet public toilet at Aflao lorry station was also in progress.

Mr Koffie said bids had been opened for the award of contract for the construction of the Makoro Junction to Beach and the Aflao Hospital to market roads. Bids had also been opened for the construction of 60.4 kilometres of feeder roads for Afife-Nolopi-Kpota, Agorre Junction-Devego, Penyi-Ehie, Agbozume-Ehie, Dzodze-Ehie and Dzodze-Tadzewu.

Mr Kofi Dzamesi, Deputy Volta Region Minister, praised the assembly members and noted that the Regional District Assemblies Evaluation Committee had identified Ketu as one of the best three in the region.

Mr Modestus Ahiable, MP for Ketu North, advised the assembly to run its administration strictly in line with the Local Government Legislative Instrument.