Koforidua, June 15, GNA - President John Evans Atta Mills, has congratulated Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCES), for the solid efforts being made to ensure that the better Ghana Agenda is comprehensively rolled out. He said: 93I cannot hide how impressed I have been on my working visi= ts; today, all well-meaning Ghanaians are aware of what we have been able to do in two-and-half years and the appreciation are loud enough for all to hear= ". President Mills was opening a two-day Conference of Chief Executives o= f Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in Koforidua on Wednesday o= n the theme: 93Implementing the Better Ghana Agenda through Sustainable Loca= l Economic Development".

He said: 93There is no denying the fact that considerable challenges confronted us on the onset of our governance journey but we did not throw our hands up in despair". President Mills indicated that the government had stood up to the challenges, stayed focused and did not allow itself to be drown into the false impression that it was incapable of investing in the people, expandin= g infrastructure, building a strong and resilient economy as well as managing the affairs of State in an open, honest and transparency manner. He, however, noted that there was still a lot of work to be done and challenged the MMDCEs not to rest on their oars but to continue to roll up their sleeves and do more than they had done thus so far adding 93we will in no small measure endear ourselves to our fellow Ghanaians".

President Mills advised the MMDCEs to give traditional rulers their du= e because they are not only the landlords but also the custodians of customs and traditions. "Real power does not belong to us; it belongs to the people and we da= re not abuse the power they have reposed in us lest they take away what legitimately belongs to them", he said. President Mills indicated that Central Government was undertaking structural and institutional reforms to ensure appropriate and balanced investments in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, oil and gas to provide a modern, dynamic and diversified economy.

He said provision of clean water, health facilities, schools, and protection of the environment, waste management, road construction, rural electrification, poverty reduction, job creation, continued to be pivots around which the government agenda was revolving. President Mills charged the MMDCEs to identify innovations to manage waste, adding that the war must be a relentless one. He said as a social democratic government, social safety net programmes, such as capitation grant, fertilizer subsidies for small-scale farmers, the National Health Insurance Scheme, dedicated proportion of the Common Fund for Persons with Disabilities and reduced electricity tariffs for lifeline consumers, continued to remain important to the government.