Cape Coast, March 5, GNA - Madam Ama Benyiwa-Doe, Central Regional Minister has called on Heads of Ministries, Department and Agencies in the Region, not to allow their political affiliations to influence their work.

She said it was their responsibility to serve the Region, with the available resources at their disposal, by working to the best of their abilities.

Madam Benyiwa-Doe made the call when addressing a durbar to officially introduce herself to them at Cape Coast on Thursday. She pointed out that she did not have any problem with their political affiliations when they worked hard towards socio-economic development in the Region.

Madam Benyiwa-Doe said effective supervision was very important and pledged to pay regular visits to the various departments to ensure enhanced performance.

She announced that periodic meetings would be held with them to identify challenges facing their institutions for appropriate redress and pledged the Central Regional Coordinating Council's (CRCC) support to enhance their operations. During an open forum, some of the Heads of Departments, expressed concern about the recent spate of road accidents on the Accra-Yamoransa-Takoradi Highway and appealed to the authorities concerned to work together to stem them because "so many precious lives are being lost".

Mr Boama Djan, Central Regional Director of Ghana Highways Authority, observed that most drivers failed to observe road signs and adhered to safety measures despite the numerous warning signs erected on that stretch of the road.

Mr Alex Bartels Hughes, Central Regional Fire Officer, expressed the view that road accidents were not only due to human error, but also due to the numerous ramps on that stretch of the road and called for their reduction, adding that the situation might reduce the number of tourists to the Region.

Ms Rosemond Blay, Central Regional Director of Education expressed concern that most teachers sought transfers to the Region only to leave the classrooms to pursue courses at the universities and polytechnic, and said the situation was gravely affecting academic work. On sanitation and the environment, they called for measures to stem unsanitary conditions and the need for activities of illegal chain saw operators to be checked. They complained that the installation of pre-paid electricity meters at their various work places was hampering their work since they were not able to purchase power until their budgetary allocations had been made available. 05 March 09