The Tema Metropolitan Assembly as of September 30, 2021 collected GH₵18,415,384.48 being 78 per cent of its budgeted Internally Generated Fund.
It received grants totalling GH₵9,571,707.24 out of an estimated amount of GH₵17,769,114.85
The assembly however spent GH₵17, 785,534. 24 of the amount on compensation, goods and services and asset.
He commended the security agencies for the proactive measures they had put in place to reduce armed robbery and heinous crimes in the metropolis.
The Metropolitan Chief Executive of Tema, Mr Yohane Armah Ashitey, disclosed this during the third ordinary meeting of the second session of the assembly.
He said the assembly’s planned programmes and activities remained on course in spite of a court case against it involving the award of a contract to install 3,000 street lights which has had a debilitating effect on the assembly’s finances.
Mr Ashitey outlined a number of development projects being undertaken by the assembly at different levels of completion including a four-storey 100-capacity bed at Tema New Town and construction of fence wall for TMA Comm 1 Twediase JHS and Akodzo JHS.
He promised to run an open-door policy and work closely with stakeholders to bring the much-needed development to the people of Tema in an impartial and pragmatic way.
Mr Ashitey said the Assembly in collaboration with the Health Directorate continued to implement the national COVID-19 preparedness and response plan of tracing, testing, treatment among others.
He said in line with President Akufo Addo’s vision of making Greater Accra the cleanest region and the Greater Accra Regional Minister’s campaign of “making Accra work”,the TMA would wage a campaign to clamp down on the indiscipline towards its by-laws especially sanitation, unauthorised trading along streets and pavements and the erection of unauthorised structures among others.
The campaign which he christened “Make Tema shine again” he said would provide the avenue for businesses to thrive, build coalitions aimed at improving the living conditions of residents and make TMA self sufficient.
The Tema South District Engineer of Electricity Company of Ghana, Mr Christopher Appau, said miscreants broke into transformer stations to vandalise copper embedded in fuses and busbars for sale to scrap dealers.
He appealed to residents especially assembly members to help prevent such acts which resulted in unplanned outages and loss of revenue to ECG.
Mr Appau expressed concern that many house owners in the Tema Township had extended their projects to cover underground cables making it difficult to trace faults or undertake electrical repairs when they occur.
FROM GODFRED BLAY GIBBAH, TEMA
