STMA TO BENEFIT FROM FOUR FUNDING SOURCES (PAGE 18, AUGUST 27, 2010)

THE Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly has benefited from funding for projects towards the socio-economic development of the metropolis.
The funds are from the District Development Fund (DDF), the Ghana Urban Management Pilot Project (GUMPP), the Social Investment Fund (SIF) and the Corporative Housing Foundation (CHF).
The assembly’s qualification for the DDF was based on the results of the Functional Organisational Assessment Tool (FOAT) exercise conducted nationwide.
The results were that only the Western and Upper East regions recorded a 100 per cent performance to qualify for the 2009 investment projects under the District Development Fund.
The assembly has thus been given US$382,580.54 and it is in the process of finalising the preparation of sub-projects to be financed from the DDF for submission to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.
The Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) received a capacity grant of GH¢19,000.00 in respect of the 2008 DDF and part of the amount has been used to procure office equipment for its planning unit.
The Corporative Housing Foundation (CHF), in collaboration with the STMA, has prepared a Poverty Profile Map for the metropolis.
The map shows the level of poverty in the twin-city of Sekondi/Takoradi for future interventions. The draft report has been validated by the assembly and is awaiting the finalised map.
The Ghana Urban Management Pilot Project (GUMPP) is being piloted in four cities across the country: Sekondi/Takoradi, Kumasi, Ho and Tamale and the total amount voted for the project is 40 million euros.
The Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly has proposed some sub-projects for implementation in the metropolis under the GUMPP.
The projects are the construction of a transit terminal for haulage trucks at Mpintsin and an integrated social centre at Effiakuma, the upgrading of infrastructure facilities at the Kokompe industrial enclave into a light industrial estate and urban management programme for Sekondi/Takoradi.
The GUMPP seeks to promote more effective urban governance in terms of strategic planning, local management and the internal organisation of local administration, as well as the planning, implementation and maintenance of local public investments.
The Social Investment Fund (SIF), sponsors of the Urban Poverty Reduction Project (UPRP), is currently evaluating 20 selected projects in the metropolis.
They include the construction of a shelter at Ngyiresia, the renovation of a meat shop and provision of cold storage facility, paving the harbour taxi rank, the construction of a shelter with office at Amanful, the construction of an abattoir, a kraal and cold store at Whindo, the construction of meat shop at Apremdo, a shelter at Sekondi beach area and paving the Sekondi beach area road.
Others are the provision of 12 refuse containers, the construction of refuse container platforms, paving the food section of the Apremdo market, the construction of a warehouse at Apremdo market, the rehabilitation of market stalls, fencing and lighting at Apremdo market and the construction of a six-unit classroom block at Adiembra-Anaisie primary school.
The rest are the construction of a six-unit classroom block each at Prophet Nkansah M/A Primary School, the AME Zion School at Mpintsin, at Essipon M/A Primary and the Anglican School at Kojokrom.
Speaking at the second meeting of the fourth session of the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly, the Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Kobina Pra Annan, said on April 23, 2010, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the STMA and the Takoradi Steel Company with its foreign partners.
In furtherance to this, he said the company was on the verge of initiating a comprehensive framework for a Development Agreement to be negotiated.
“This will set a tone for the execution of what is termed ‘Jubilee City Projects’ which is a public-private partnership programme engineered by the Jubilee City Co-operation in collaboration with STMA”, he explained.
He said the redevelopment of the Takoradi Central Business District was on course and that the assembly was still awaiting a decisive response from the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing concerning the re-fund of money paid by occupants of the low-cost houses, to enable the STMA to take full possession of the site for a proposed investment.
Mr Annan said the assembly had also concluded negotiations with the Ghana Air Force and that issues were being sorted out with land owners and the Land Commission to enable the assembly to relocate artisans within the environs of the Jubilee Park to Kansaworodo, in order to make way for the construction of an ultra-modern shopping mall.
To this end, he added that an initial amount of GH¢25,000 had already been paid for plots of land at Kansaworodo.
“As l address you now, officials of Country Development Contracts Limited, the company that has proposed to re-build the Takoradi Central Market, are in town to survey areas for relocation of traders in order to produce drawings for work to begin”, he said.
Mr Annan said as a requirement for the Functional Organisational Assessment Tool (FOAT), and in fulfilment of the Legislative Instrument setting up the assembly’s sub-structures, it was being recommended that renewal of temporary permits, property rate on individual households and on-street parking revenue items be ceded to the Sub-metropolis.
He said negotiations with the revenue collection and monitoring company, Messrs REVNET Limited, were still on-going.
He said at the invitation of the company, a six-member team from the STMA went on a study tour in Lagos, Nigeria in May this year to visit the partner operations of REVNET to enable the assembly to ascertain and confirm the benefits to be derived by their clients.
This, he explained, was to enable the assembly to verify the viability of the company’s use of electronic banking system of revenue cycle management.
Again, he said in June this year, a four-member team visited the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly which is already implementing REVNET’s proposal, for further verifications.
He noted that the project offered significant benefits and expressed the hope that the assembly would approve of it, so that “we can negotiate further on its implementation.”
Touching on revenue performance, Mr Annan said the assembly was expecting to collect GH¢2,386,130.40, this year.
He said as at June 30th, 2010, a total of GH¢ 1,202,989.97 had been collected, adding that it represented 50.4 per cent.
The Metro Chief Executive stressed that waste management continued to pose serious challenges to the assembly, adding that “the assembly needs to move for a full cost recovery of waste servicing in all parts of the metropolis.”
“I plan to propose a Waste Servicing Levy to be paid by all households in the metropolis. A meeting will be arranged with property owners to discuss the proposition later this year”, he added.
Mr Annan said through the Department of Urban Roads, the assembly had so far awarded contracts for filling potholes, grading, resealing, and routine monthly cleaning works as well as clearing and weeding in the metropolis.
He said the department had also submitted proposals on 17 different roads in the metropolis, to Accra for approval.