Asamankese, April 19, GNA - A three-day orientation course for members of the West Akyem District Assembly to equip them with the skills to enable them to perform their duties efficiently has been held at Asamankese.

The District Chief Executive, Mr Kwabena Sintim Aboagye said the course had made members to appreciate the need to initiate projects in their communities for the Assembly to support them.

He explained that requests for assistance from the Assembly for projects could be made only when the project had reached 60 per cent completion before the Assembly cold provide the needed support. Mr Sintim-Aboagye expressed concern about the situation where some Assembly members just heaped some few trips of sand and stone and thereafter made requests to the Assembly for financial and material support.

He said it was sad to note that the communal spirit in the communities was gradually dying down and stressed that the Assembly could not allow that to continue if the District was to move forward. The DCE expressed regret that the experience with the European Union Micro projects revealed the laxity and non-cooperation of the community towards the projects that they themselves considered as priorities.

He urged members to educate their communities to know that the projects were community-owned and had therefore not been awarded on contract.

The DCE explained that it was only the skilled labour component that had been given out to skilled foremen to ensure the speedy execution of the projects.

Three experts in the local governance system took members through such topics as the Ghana Local Government System, legislative framework, functions and role of district assembly members, the role of district assembly members in revenue generation and local environmental sanitation management.

The resource persons included Mr Raphael Nyadzi, Planning Officer of the Eastern Regional Co-ordinating Council, Mr Isaac Adu Dontor, a retired administrator and Mr Kofi Tandoh, a lawyer. 19 April 07