Tarkwa, April 15, GNA-Assembly members of the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipal Assembly have appealed, as a matter of urgency, for an orientation course to enable them perform effectively. The members noted that with the re-constitution of the various unit committees and swearing in of assembly members, it was appropriate that they are taken through the various standing orders, rules of engagement and other procedures, to make them competent to deal dispassionately with the issues on the development of the municipality.

The assembly members made the call in unison at the first ordinary session of the assembly at Tarkwa on Wednesday. They called on the assembly and its executive committee to involve the assembly members in the granting and award of contracts for projects in their respective communities, to enable them monitor the quality and progress of work while at the same time ensuring that projects are completed on schedule.

Mrs. Christina Kobinah, Municipal Chief Executive for Tarkwa-Nsuaem, in her address, said the unnecessary rivalry that usually occurred between assembly members and government appointees could retard the development of the municipality.

She said the technocrats and bureaucrats are co-partners in the developmental agenda of the assembly and assembly members must see them as playing a vital role in the success of the area. Mrs. Kobinah commended the previous assembly members for working hard to bring development and the initiation of several development projects to their respect communities and appealed to the new ones to emulate them.

The MCE stressed that divergent views should be tolerated and consensus building should be the accepted practice in the assembly. The Member of Parliament for Tarkwa, Mrs Gifty E. Kusi, said the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipality was too large and needed to be divided again to propel their developmental agenda.

She said the increasing population of Tarkwa and its environs made it necessary for its planners to take appropriate steps to match its development with the population increases while at the same time ensuring that hygiene and environmental sanitation are paramount in the assembly's development agenda.

"We need to promote peace and stability by working together as a team to promote the socio-economic development of Tarkwa and its environs" she stressed. Mr. Moses Ackah, Presiding Member(PM), reminded the assembly members that the various structures of the assembly constitute a very important part of the decentralization processes and should not be under-estimated.

He said Chiefs as custodians of the land should be give the due respect and consulted as regularly as possible to solicit their views and create a conducive atmosphere in their respective communities. Mr. Ackah reminded assembly members that they were role models and should not do anything that would bring the name of the assembly into disrepute.