KPANDO EXTENDS POWER TO MORE FACILITIES (BACK PAGE, JAN 2)

PLANS are underway to extend electricity to some basic educational institutions, health facilities and important installations in the Kpando District in the Volta Region.
The completion of the project is expected to stimulate academic work and health delivery to enhance productivity towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the district.
The Kpando District Chief Executive, Mr Francis Ganyaglo, announced this in a speech at the second ordinary meeting of the third session of the fifth assembly at Kpando.
He said as part of the project, classrooms, teachers’ quarters, health facilities such as Community Health Planning Scheme (CHPS) compounds would be connected, adding that the exercise would continue until all basic schools, health facilities and other public service institutions were connected.
He said negotiations had been concluded with the Electricity Company of Ghana for the first batch of schools, and other institutions will soon be hooked to the national grid.
Mr Ganyaglo disclosed that 11 projects were undertaken under the sixth European Union (EU) micro projects under two phases at a total cost of GH¢ 2,177,880.64.
They comprised two classroom blocks at Aveme-Dzeme and Anfoega-Dzana, a teachers’ quarters at Sovie, two CHPS compounds at Kpando-Dafor and Tsoxor, five public places of convenience at Anfoega –Gblenkor, Awate-Agame, Awate-Dzifadzi, Kpando-Aloryi, Kpando-Aziave and a warehouse at Kpando.
He also said four income generating projects were also executed on cassava processing equipment for the Dunenyo Cassava Progressive Group at Dzoanti, a showroom for Vakpo Wood Carvers’ Association and improved Chorkor smokers for the Milenorvisi Co-operative Association and the construction of access road for Potters Association at Fesi.
Mr Ganyaglo further announced that the government had secured a credit from the International Development Association (IDA) to fund the Kpando water supply project with the view to solving the age long water problem, adding that international competitive bidding had been advertised for the project.
In a welcoming address, the presiding member, Mr Joseph Kudzo Adigbli, said the operations of National Association of Local Government Authorities of Ghana (NALAG) was championing real devolution of power, competence and means to the local authorities.
He said there was the need to take a critical look at the bottlenecks and impediments on the road to achieving real local autonomy.
He said some of the impediments were the lack of political will at the centre to review some legislation, remuneration for assembly members, competence of staff at the local level, abuse of the appointee system and the takeover of the association by the Municipal and District Chief Executives.