The Jomoro Municipal Assembly of the Western Region has held its second Town Hall Meeting primarily to aid stakeholders and citizenry of the municipality appreciate and have an opportunity to information on the development interventions in the area

The Town Hall Meeting was also to afford the people of the area the opportunity to be informed about government programmes and projects being implemented over the period.

It was organized by the Ministry of Information in conjunction with the Jomoro Municipal Assembly to educate and account to the populace the level of implementation of the policies, programs and projects, especially in the municipality and also to solicit feedbacks and views from the public.

The first one was held at the Municipal capital, Half Assini in 2017 but this time around it was moved away from the capital to Tikobo Number One community where over thousand residents met to share their views on how the Assembly is developing the area.

This year's meeting was under the theme, "Educating The Populace On Government Policies And Initiatives".

Addressing the gathering at Tikobo No. 1 on Thursday, November 22, 2018, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr. Ernest Kofie said the town hall meeting had become necessary as part of government's intention to ensure accountability and transparency in administering affairs of the nation.

He acknowledged that the various achievements chalked by his administration over time was due to the collaboration from various stakeholders in the municipality.

The MCE who touched on various development projects including education, agriculture, health, local governance, roads, youth development, hinted that the future of the municipality is bright due to the pace of initiatives to bring development to the doorstep of the people.

Planting for Food and Jobs

Under this programme, the MCE said the programme is an initiative geared towards increasing Food Productivity and Food Security, reducing food imports and modernizing agriculture and make it a source of employment for the teeming youth.

He added that in 2017, 108 farmers registered for program and in 2018, 510 farmers registered for three crops such as rice, maize and vegetable.

32.6 hectares of land were used for the exercise this year.

The following are output of the programme, 37 bags of maize, 80 sachets of pepper, 80 cans of tomato, 80 cans of cabbage, 80 cans of cucumber, 80 cans of lettuce, 72 sachets of carriot, 20 sachets of onion, 20 bags of rice among others.

"The onion farm at Half Assini and lettuce farm at Nvellenu have employed so many youth and I urge all of us here to embrace it", he said.

Fall Army Worn Control Program

The MCE bemoaned that 190 hectares of maize farms were attacked and added that it were reported in twenty-eight (28) communities.

He revealed "A total of 155.8 hectares were fully recovered through application of free agrochemicals supplied by government. Three pheromone trap have been mounted at Half Assini, Tikobo Number One and Elubo to check the presence of the female moths of the pest".

Another intervention by the Assembly dubbed artificial hand pollination has also led to improvement in the predominantly cocoa growing areas.

Planting for Food and Export for Rural Development Program (PERD)

Mr. Kofie revealed that the Assembly has initiated a new program called Planting for Food and Export for Rural Development to promote rural economic growth and improve household income of rural farmers through the provision of certified improved seedlings.

He said under this initiative, the Assembly has supplied 120,000 cocoa seedlings to 314 cocoa farmers in 2018 who have been registered for it.

SME and Youth Development

The MCE said "Business development programs were ushered for the youth and various SME's in the municipality. A total of 354 persons participated in the training which comprised of 49% females and 51% males".

The training activities included; business stakeholders forum, business counselling, beads making, soap making, baking and confectionery, cosmetic and bleach production, batik tye and dye, welding and fabrication, metal machinery among others.

Under the one District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative, Mr. Kofie said the policy seeks to create economic growth poles that will accelerate the development of the municipal and create jobs for the teeming youth.

He said "Two factory projects have been selected to be implemented in the Municipality and feasibility studies are ongoing. The projects include; Fertilizer Processing Factory at the Dormuli Enclave, Salt Production factory for the manufacture of caustic soda at Anlomatuape".

Under the Youth Employment Agency, the MCE said 376 youth both males and females have been engaged at the various modules.

He added that 269 tertiary graduates have been engaged into the Nation Builders Corps (NaBCO).

"Under the Nation Builders Corps (NaBCO). Two hundred and sixty-nine (269) graduates have been posted to the Municipal for placement by the module implementation partners. The modules by the sectors represent 74% males and 26% females", he explained.

Social Development Initiatives

The MCE revealed that the Assembly supported people living with disabilities with so many equipment and materials worth 123,000 Ghana Cedis this year to improve their living conditions.

"The Assembly has disbursed GHc123,000 to people living with disabilities. The beneficiaries of the funds received equipment and materials that will enable them to generate income", he revealed.

Speaking about the LEAP expansion program, he said the LEAP expansion program was carried out in 40 communities and 1,107 people have been enrolled onto the program in 2018.

Mr. Ernest Kofie revealed to the gathering that the Assembly is reshaping the Ankasa Forest road to attract tourists to the place and also help farmers living there.

He, therefore, seized the opportunity to rally behind the NPP government and pledged his total commitment to work everybody in the area.

He said "Government has initiated policies, programs and projects to address the socio-economic and environmental challenges confronting the people of Ghana".

He urged the residents to refrain from partisan politics and be united as one people.

Delivering PowerPoint presentation on behalf of Minister of information, Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Western Regional Information Officer, Mr. Armstrong Nana Asmah said Town Hall Meetings are decentralised means of giving the members and leaders of the various communities nationwide the opportunity to get together to discuss the progress and emerging issues of both the central and local government.

He spoke on the major sectors of the economic such as food and agriculture, land and natural resources, fisheries, trade and industry, education, gender and social protection, youth and sports, governance, local governance, information, accountability, economy, culture and tourism, defence, communication, railways development, energy, business development and employment, social initiatives and health.

He said, government has restored the Health Trainee Allowance covering over 54,840 trainees from 77 public health training institutions across the country.

Present at the meeting were, Heads of Departments, Opinion Leaders, Traditional Leaders, Security Services, NGOs, Assembly Members, The Media, The MP for the area and a cross-section of indigenes from the Municipality.