LOCAL GOVT MINISTRY PRESENTS DRONES TO 17 ASSEMBLIES
THE Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development (MLGDRD) has presented drones to the 17 beneficial metropolitan and municipal assemblies of the Greater Accra Resilience and Integrated Development (GARID) project.
The beneficiary Assemblies are the Accra Metropolitan Assembly; Ablekuma Central, North, and West Municipal Assemblies; Adentan, and Ayawaso Central, East, North, and West Municipal Assemblies.
The rest are the Ga Central, East, North, and West Municipal Assemblies; La Dade Kotopon, La-Nkwantanang, Okaikoi North and Korle-Klottey Municipal Assembly.
The Land Use and Spatial Authority (LUSPA) was also presented with one to undertake its regulatory role of spatial planning and management of settlements in the country.
The equipment are to aid the surveillance and development controls of the various assemblies, especially along the River buffers and drains.
The gesture forms part of the GARID project which seeks to improve flood risk and solid waste management in the Odaw River basin and improve access to basic infrastructure and services in the targeted flood prone low-income communities in the Greater Accra region.
The high accuracy and information drones have the capacity to fly at a 15 kilometers radius and 45-minutes flying time.
With a one year defects insurance, two persons have been trained at the assemblies and the LUSPA to fly and maintain the drones.
At a presentation ceremony in Accra, the Minister of State at the MLGDRD and MP for Akuapim South, Osei Bonsu Amoah, said this would give the assemblies a “shot in the arm” in the fight against the indiscriminate encroachment of water ways in the capital.
He entreated the assemblies and the operators of the devices to handle the equipment with care, service them on time as he reassured of the government’s commitment to invest into the sector, to halt developments at unauthorized places.
“These are your drowns and your people have been trained. We expect that they use the drones well to the benefit of the people as part of the GARID project,” he said.
Coordinator of the GARID project, Dr Kwadwo Ohene Sarfo, said the presentation marked a milestone in the realization of the GARID vision.
He said many buffer zones continued to be encroached hence the need for further investments into the efforts to stem the tide.
Dr Sarfo charged the beneficiary assemblies to optimize the equipment and manage the sprawling along buffers of water bodies and drains for a more resilient Accra.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
