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Govt must engage relevant stakeholders to revive ailing economy – Mahama
Former President John Dramani Mahama has called on the government to begin stakeholder consultation on how to revive the Ghanaian economy following its recent challenges.
Mr. Mahama called for a national conversation to trade ideas on how best to address the challenges confronting the economy.
Speaking at the 2023 National Development Conference organized by the Church of Pentecost in Gomoa Fetteh in the Central Region, John Mahama said constructive engagement will help the country’s development and economic recovery.
He applauded the initiative taken by the Church and admonished the president and persons in public office to emulate and engage.
“I dare say that the Church of Pentecost has set the tone, and it is my hope that the president and our leaders will take a cue to create the opportunity for cross-fertilization of ideas on vexed issues and challenges that face our country such as the current economic crisis and important issues like the implementation of the Free SHS.”
“Conscious building does not diminish a leader, it rather projects a leader’s strength in carrying along his vision with the people that he leads.”
Source: Citinewsroom.com
The Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh Dompreh, has expressed concern over delays in the release of the District Assemblies Common Fund, warning that the situation is stalling development across the country.
On his facebook page, he described as a matter of urgent national importance, the Minority Chief Whip pointed to what he sees as a growing crisis of unpaid contractors, abandoned projects, and halted infrastructure works in many districts.
He noted that several communities are grappling with half completed schools, unfinished health facilities, abandoned markets, deteriorating roads, and stalled sanitation projects.
According to him, many contractors who have executed projects for district assemblies have not been paid, forcing some construction firms to demobilise from sites while workers lose their jobs.
He stressed that the District Assemblies Common Fund is not a discretionary allocation but a constitutional requirement under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution, intended to support development at the local level.
In his view, years of delayed releases and accumulated arrears have weakened district development financing and disrupted projects meant to improve living conditions in communities.
He further argued that some payments made in recent years were largely the settlement of old debts rather than funding for new or ongoing projects, a situation he believes has affected contractor confidence and local economic activity.
He described the issue as more than a budgetary challenge, characterising it as a development emergency and a governance concern.
He therefore urged the appropriate authorities to pay outstanding DACF arrears, settle contractors who have completed their work, and ensure that transfers to districts are automatic and predictable.
He maintained that decentralisation can only succeed when district assemblies receive adequate and timely funding to carry out development projects.
He emphasised that stalled projects directly affect ordinary citizens, since they rely on such infrastructure for education, healthcare, transportation, sanitation, and economic activities.
He called for renewed attention to grassroots development, insisting that national progress should not be concentrated only in major cities but extended to all communities.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Richard Appiah, the footballer who killed two children and stored part of their bodies in a fridge at Abesim in the Bono Region in 2021 has been handed a lifetime sentence.
This was after a five member panel of judges at the Accra High Court returned a verdict of guilty against the convict.
Appiah, 32, also a draughtsman would spend the rest of his life in prison after he was convicted of murder.
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BY MALIK SULLEMANA
