13-07-2011
Narration: This year’s Second Annual General Meeting of the Kassena-Nankana East District Assembly has taken place at Navrongo with a call on assembly members to intensify efforts in fighting fertilizer smuggling at their respective electoral areas. The Kassena-Nankana East District Chief Executive, Emmanuel Andema, who made the appeal, described as worrying the rate at which fertilizers are being smuggled outside the district, despite government’s subsidy on fertilizer to deprived farmers. He therefore stressed on the urgent need for all to join hands to help stem the negative practice since it posses a threat to agriculture and also deny famers access to the fertilizer that is subsidized to benefit them. The meeting attracted various stakeholders including heads of decentralized departments and assembly members among other functionaries. Isaac Asare has the rest of the story for Radio Ghana.
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Participants at the meeting were updated on the assembly’s developmental efforts in the areas of revenue mobilization, security, health, education, roads and finance of the assembly as well as water and sanitation among other sector of the economy. Mr. Andema in his sessional address, raised serious concern on the upsurge of fertilizer smuggling in the district, which is said was gradually becoming an impediment on government’s fertilizer subsidy for farmers particularly those in deprived areas of the country. According to, Mr. Andema, a total of 149 bags of fertilizers were recently intercepted as they were being smuggled out of the country through the combine effort of the police and other security agencies and called for all to join hands in the fight against the menace. He said the district as at June, this year, has taken delivery of 2000 bags of various types of fertilizers and are in the custody of the approved agents. These fertilizers he indicated are made readily available and could be obtained at the various dealer points at subsidized prices. On the National Block Farming Project, Mr. Andema said government has target the cultivation of variety of crops to ensure all year round farming and appealed to assembly members to encourage people within their localities to take advantage of the programme and get involved in their bid to increase food production. On health, the district has been working closely with the district directorate of health services as part of their collective effort at addressing the challenges facing the sector through the provision of infrastructure to deserving communities. The establishment of CHPs centres which is being vigorously pursued coupled with the completion of 1No Nutrition Centre at Akuka and Nyangua, funded under DWAP and DDF, has brought health care delivery close to the doorstep of the beneficiary communities and their immediate environs. Mr. Andema was worried about the 2.0 percent HIV and AIDS prevalence rate in the district and again called on assembly members to redouble their effort and work towards its reduction. He cautioned infected persons against the act of luring innocent girls into unprotected sex. On revenue mobilization, Mr. Andema was however not happy about the performance of the district, stating that, out of an estimated Internal Generation Fund target of 180,000 Ghana Cedis for the year 2011, an amount of 54,070 Ghana Cedis representing 30 percent of the budgeted estimate had been realized as at May, 2011, and encouraged the assembly to step up their effort at revenue mobilization to enable them meet its revenue target for the year, particularly in the area of property rates. According to him, all other sectors of the district would be tackled appropriately and called on all assembly members and donor partners to support in that regard. The Presiding Member, Dennis Chirawurah for his part urged members of the assembly to apply themselves diligently to the business of the house and participate actively in the deliberations and debates on the floor of the house. He moreover stressed the need to maintain peace and unity, and urged members to eschew actions that do not contribute to advancing the district development aspirations.
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