The President of the Congress of Ho West Paramount Chiefs and Queens, Osie Adza Tekpor VII, in the Volta Region, has called for the amendment of the Local Government Act to give greater room to chiefs to effectively monitor cash inflows, fund utilisation and contract executions of assemblies.
This will also ensure the judicious use of resources and proper implementation of development projects to benefit the people without exploiting them.
Osie Adza Tekpor, who is Paramount Chief of Avatime, was speaking at the last quarterly meeting of the congress with the Ho West District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Ernest Victor Apau, to review last year’s development activities in the area, at Dzolo-Kpuita, last week.
He said that government policies and development plans were centred on the people and urged traditional authorities to participate in their implementation.
“This also highlights the need for the assembly to constantly brief the chiefs on the progress of such projects,” Osie Adza Tekpor added.
He said that although contractors of infrastructural projects in the communities may have the required expertise, they still needed local knowledge to efficiently carry out their work.
According Osie Adza Tekpor, some contractors in the past did shoddy work with regards to infrastructural projects and got away with it because the chiefs were not involved in the monitoring of those projects.
Paramount Chief of Akorviefe, Togbe Adza Osie VII, also called for greater supervisory role by chiefs in the execution of projects that affected their communities.
He said that there was ample evidence of abandoned and poorly executed projects by contractors, who were not up to the task awarded them.
Togbe Adza Osie cited that a basic school classroom block project under the GETFund, at Akorviefe, was recently carried out with poor quality windows and doors, saying “this would not have happened if the traditional authorities were given the opportunity to scrutinise the progress of work”.
Responding, the DCE gave the assurance that the assembly would continue to work vigorously with chiefs in the implementation of development programmes.
He cautioned that contractors who would poorly execute projects, would not be paid any money.
The congress commended the DCE for spearheading vital and timely infrastructural development in the district and also for his role in mobilising revenue for the assembly.
FROM ALBERTO MARIO NORETTI, DZOLO-KPUITA FROM ALBERTO MARIO NORETTI, DZOLO-KPUITA
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