The Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) has made giant strides in enhancing its revenue generation drive. The assembly has received a total revenue of GH¢34.6million as at the end of September this year.

However, the actual expenditure, from all sources, stood at GH¢33.1million. Mayor of Tema, Isaac Ashai Odamteen made this revelation at the third general ordinary meeting of the assembly in Tema.

Explaining the assembly’s expenditure, he noted that administrative expenditure, which stood at GH¢14.5million, took up almost half of the expenditure budget. That was followed by sanitation which stood at GH¢7million; education, GH¢5.6million; road, GH¢2.1million; health, GH¢1.2million; energy- GH¢1.1million; environment, GH¢1.3million; agriculture, GH¢75,000; and water, GH¢257,000.

Despite the small amount spent on agriculture, the Mayor said the department will continue to get the necessary attention to enable them undertake it planned programs.

According to him, 63 farming families were trained in various farming technologies, with a 100percent achievement made in food security and emergency preparedness. He added that the fishing harbour’s sanitation situation has been improved following the renovation of the fish mongers structure.

In the area of health Mr. Odamteen disclosed that the assembly introduced a strategy which helped in the achievement of 95.8percent of improved access to quality assurance, neo-natal, child and adolescent health, and availability of blood in all the blood banks.

He added that the assembly is assisting the Tema General Hospital to procure blood analyzers to help process its blood for blood transfusion; construct a 40-bed capacity maternity ward for the hospital and support the Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate to distribute insecticide net to over 120,000 households, among others.

In the education sector, he indicated that emergency interventions were taken with the objective of ending the shift system in the Tema metropolis.

These interventions, according to him, include the construction of a six-unit class room block each at Baatsonaa and Mexico basic areas; a nine-unit class room block at Anglican basic; two-storey 12 unit class room block each at Lashibi, and Adjei Kodjo and other measures.

With regards to social services, the Mayor said 35 women’s groups consisting of 1,588 females were trained in local economic development programs; 63 women in two communities were assisted to undertake self-help activities; while 48 women acquired loans; 504 elderly people were registered under the EBAN elderly card to enable them access free social protection interventions and livelihood of 409 LEAP beneficiaries have been improved among others.

He mentioned that the assembly has made significant efforts in improving the waste management and environmental health issues, administration of the metropolis, security, tourism, transport development, street naming and property numbering as well as other Public Private Partnership projects.