Mankessim (C/R), July 16, GNA - The Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, Mr Stephen Asamoah Boateng, has ordered the Mfantseman District Assembly to relocate the lorry station at the back of the Mankessim market to ease congestion especially during market days.

He gave the directive during an interaction with Revenue Officers and traders at the market to help find solutions to some of the problems confronting the Assembly as part of his familiarisation tour of the Central Region.

The Minister who is also the MP for Mfantseman West expressed concern about the attitude of drivers at the station towards even top government and public officers.

He noted that the lorry park could be moved to the space at the new timber market created as a result of the construction of the Apam Junction-Yamoransa Road and said that could help the Assembly to save about 40 billion cedis budgeted for a transport terminal. The Minister asked the District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Robert Quainoo Arthur, to speed up plans to relocate the drivers and urged the Revenue Collectors to improve their performance and desist from fraudulent practices since the Assembly depended on the funds for development projects.

Mr Asamoah Boateng who joined the Revenue Officers on their rounds at the market asked DCEs, District Coordinating Directors and Accountants of District Assemblies to get actively involved in revenue mobilisation to motivate the Revenue Collectors. He said that the focus of the Ministry was environmental sanitation and decentralisation and warned that Assemblies that performed below average in managing sanitation and waste management would not get support.

The Minister said there were plans to re-introduce Health Inspectors popularly known as "asama asaman " to help check in-sanitary conditions in communities and stated that the Ministry would seek the assistance of the Police and other security agencies to ensure a clean environment to avert epidemics.

The Minister also visited the site of Taisei Company Limited, contractors working on the Apam Junction-Yamoransa road and an oil palm nursery under the President's Special Initiative (PSI) near Bafikrom.