Anhwiem (C/R), Dec. 15, GNA - Mr Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment (MLGRDE), on Thursday called on District Chief Executives (DCE's) to continue to operationalise Area Council systems in their jurisdiction to enhance local governance.

He held that with the support of the DCEs, the Councils could effectively implement small and simple infrastructure projects on their own.

Mr Asamoah-Boateng made the call in a speech read for him at the inauguration of a block of classrooms, an office and a store, for the local school at Anwhiem in the Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa district at a total cost of 173.5 million cedis.

The block was a community driven development project, through the use of the Rapid Results Initiative (RRI). It took 95 days to complete. Mr Asamoah-Boateng stated that the initiative is aimed at strengthening the capacity of rural communities to enhance their quality of life by improving their productive assets and rural infrastructure. He therefore urged them to learn, adapt and institutionalize the concept adding that it could bring efficiency in the use of their limited financial resources like the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF), where the cost of putting up a simple infrastructure as schools, could be far cheaper than it would have been done on contract. Mr Asamoah-Boateng said his Ministry was requesting for the amendment of the necessary Legislative Instruments in order to make the Area Councils procurement Entities to enable them to play the role assigned to them under Act 62. He congratulated the district's four Area Councils and their traditional leaders for successfully piloting the community driven development project through the RRI, as well as Chaffer and Associates, the consultants, who trained the people on the concept.