Forty-four various projects costing over 7.36 billion cedis have been undertaken by the Mfantseman District Assembly between the years 2001 and 2002.

Mr. Kofi Wilson, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Mfantseman said this in an interview with ADM at Saltpond in Central Region last week.

He said twenty-four of the projects have been completed while the rest are ongoing. The projects include rehabilitation of markets, roads, health centre and the construction of new ones.

The DCE said educational infrastructure in the district has improved in the past two years. The Assembly with support from Ghana Educational Service (GES) has supplied seven thousand tables and chairs to all the schools in the district. Nine new schools have been built in the district and ten more have been rehabilitated. 12-unit teachers' accommodation with KVIP have also been constructed in Kyeakor, Kuntu and Twa at a total cost of 738.4 million cedis.

On health and sanitation, Mr. Wilson said the District Assembly has been able to build a health centre at Nankwa with support from the European Union (EU). The District Assembly, EU and the community also constructed ten seater KVIPs in Adoagyir, Saakwa, Ebuakwa, Pomase, Baifikrom, Kormantse, Asokwa and Saltpond.

The DCE said the district Assembly has employed twenty men and women to clean the district daily.

The DCE said there have been maintainance works on the Mankessim-Krofu feeder road, Essuehyia-Otuam feeder road and on the Immuna-Egyankwa feeder road. The Eshirow-Akotogua Mpengye feeder road has been rehabilitated, and there has been pothole patching on the Weiya-Mankessim trunk road.

On the Assembly's plan for the year, he said the Assembly in partnership with a Spanish group, Atlantic Euro Ghana Corporation would construct a lorry park complex in Mankessim at a cost of 2 million dollars. There would also be the construction of a dam in Baifikrom.He said when the project gets underway 300 hundred people would be employed. He said the Assembly is planning to improve the drainage system, security, lighting, sanitation and access roads.

"Employment generation has been one of the major challenges of the district," he said. "Saltpond Ceramics was earmarked to help solve the problem but it seems the company has it own problems."

He said, he hoped the problem of unemployment would be minimised this year with the promised opening of a pineapple processing factory in Kumfia which is expected to cost eight hundred thousand dollars.

He said many investors have shown interest in processing salt in the district and if all these projects materialise the youth would have jobs to do.

The DCE said his personal special initiative for the district this year would be "read a book a week scheme" in collaboration with Read Wide Publication Institute to help boost education in the district.