Assin Atobiase (C/R), Sept 26, GNA - Cocoa farmers have been advised not to rely solely on the government for the spraying of their farms.

They should acquire spraying machines to supplement the efforts of the government.

Ms Millicent Alice Kuranchie, District Chief Executive for Assin South who gave the advice urged those who could not purchase one on their own to form groups to pool their resources to buy one. Ms Kuranchie who was addressing the people of Assin Atobiase as part of her tour of the District announced that she was making contacts to get some of the machines for sale to farmers at an affordable cost. She appealed to communities to monitor the activities of the spraying gangs to enable them to do what was expected of them. The DCE's tour enabled her to explain government policies and programmes to the people and to learn their problems. Ms Kuranchie urged those who had not registered with the District Mutual Health Insurance Scheme to do so without delay to enable them to have access to quality affordable health care. The communities visited complained about the poor road network in the district and appealed to the DCE to use her office to address the issue.

They also expressed concern about the award of contracts by the Central Regional Feeder Roads Department without involving the Assembly. The communities called for the regular payment of salaries of teaching assistants of the National Youth Employment Programme to enable them to have peace of mind to go about with their duties. Ms Kuranchie advised chiefs to rekindle the communal spirit of the people to enable them to execute projects to complement what the government had provided to make life bearable for them.