Mampong (Ash), Dec 19, GNA - The Asante-Mampong Divisional Police Command has vowed to bring down the crime rate in the area in order for t= he law-abiding to live in peace. He said stealing for example was down to 264 from last year's figure= of 605 cases. Police Chief Superintendent Edward Oduro-Kwarteng, the Divisional Commander, was addressing an annual performance review meeting of Heads o= f Department of the Municipality at Mampong. He complained about inadequate logistics and accommodation, which he sa= id, were major constraints they faced.

He therefore appealed to the Assembly to help address the accommodation problem bedeviling the service to give the officers and men the peace of mind to carry the fight to the criminals. Nana Otuo Acheampong, Deputy Municipal Director of Education, said as pa= rt of moves to support girls' education, the Ghana Education Service (GES) h= as given a total of GH¢1,200.00 to 15 schools in the area.

Additionally, in-service training was being organized for untrained teachers in 50 basic schools to upgrade their competence. He said there is also an on-going national literacy acceleration program= me to improve the reading skills of children at the lower primary level. Mr. Emmanuel Asiedu, Municipal Director of Food and Agriculture, told th= e meeting that farmers were being assisted with credit by some banks in the=

municipality to expand their farms to boost production.

More than 200 farmers have also been supplied with improved seedlings. Mr. Solomon Asiedu, Municipal Coordinating Director, commended them for hard work and urged them to remain dedicated, eschew absenteeism, and wor= k in unity to hasten the development of the area.