Agbatsivi, (V/R), Aug. 19, GNA - One hundred and eighty-five community development projects have been executed under the sixth European Union (EU) Micro Project Programme spanning June 2006 to June 2009 in the Volta Region.

The projects which cost 4,238,486 Ghana cedis include 44 classroom blocks, 11 day care centres, 12 teachers and nurses quarters, 16 rural clinics, 59 vault chamber toilets, 15 culverts, 13 bore holes and 15 ware houses.

Mr Denkyi Darfoor, EU Micro Project Programme Manager said this at a joint commissioning ceremony for the projects on Tuesday at Agbatsivi, a fishing community in the Keta Municipality, which was also provided with a three-unit classroom block. He said the EU bore 75 per cent or 3.4 million Ghana cedis of the cost and the beneficiaries paid 25 percent totalling 847,697 Ghana cedis.

He said 46 communities in 18 districts in the region also benefited from an amount of 224,913 Ghana cedis to implement income generating ventures under a poverty reduction project. Mr Darfoor said, in all, 904 projects, including 343 classroom blocks and day care centres were executed under the sixth Micro Project Programme in 94 districts nationwide in the Upper West, Upper East, Northern, Central, Eastern and Volta regions costing a total of 25 million euros.

The provision of these facilities under the project, which was started in 1990 through an agreement by the EU and Ghana government, led to the improvement in school enrolment, health care delivery and improving quality of life in the rural areas. Mr Darfoor urged the beneficiary communities to maintain the facilities to increase their lifespan. Mr Joseph Amenorwode, Volta Regional Minister, commended the EU on behalf of the government for its support for rural development and lauded the various assemblies and communities for embracing the programme.

He said the Micro Project Programme was consistent with Ghana's poverty alleviation effort and capacity building for assemblies and local communities.

Mr Amenorwode advised the communities to put the facilities to good use to improve on enrolment, health care and sanitation to encourage more support in the future.

Mr Sylvester Tornyeava, Keta Municipal Chief Executive bemoaned the falling educational standards in the area, saying it painted a bleak picture for its future development and promised an additional three-unit classroom block for the Agbatsivi basic school.