Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayawaso North, Yussif Jajah, has disclosed that the inability to complete the Nima-Maamobi storm drain project is due to lack of funds.

The 1.2 km storm drain was part of an urban expansion project which was scheduled to be completed in October 2017 by a Brazilian construction company — Queiroz Galvao.

However, the company abandoned the project site early last year when resources for the project ceased to flow, following the election of a new government.

The project site has since become a dumping ground for residents who have attempted to fill the large holes created along the stretch of the drain with garbage.

The MP gave an assurance that contractors would return to sight as soon as funds are made available for the completion of the project.

He gave the assurance when stakeholders within the constituency met in Accra to discuss the challenges confronting the Ayawaso North Municipal Assembly (AYNMA).

The meeting was attended by some religious and traditional leaders, representatives from public utility service providers, heads of schools and other committee members of the assembly.

During discussions at the meeting, it was suggested that a police duty post should be constructed along the Nima drain (gutter) — a place noted for drug trade, smoking and other immoral acts — in order to curtail the negative impact of drug usage by the youth in the area.

Mr. Jajah called for tact and diplomacy in tackling the drug menace in the constituency.

He indicated that this could be achieved through persuasive means such as sensitisation programmes and engagements with kingpins of the drug trade.

He further stated that adopting aggressive measures such as deploying security forces to hotspots might escalate the existing tension.

Also present at the meeting was the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of AYNMA, Mohammed Aminu Zakari, who issued a one-month grace period to squatters in front of the Accra Girls’ Senior High School to vacate the site.

The decision was reached after several complaints were lodged by the school authorities to the assembly concerning the security threat the activities of squatters posed to the female students of the school.

Mr. Zakari explained that if immediate action is not taken to address the situation, more squatters would be motivated to move to the place which would make the environment less conducive for learning.

He has, therefore, appealed to community members to support the assembly when the exercise begins early next year.

Mr. Zakari also mentioned some initiatives that would be embarked upon by the assembly. These include free bin distribution project, creation of designated bus lane along the Nima road to decongest traffic and constituting a community volunteers’ group to provide security.