SAM PYNE DELIVERS HIS SESSIONAL ADDRESS
Per Section 28 (1) and (2)(a) of the Local governance Act, 2016(Act 936), the Chief Executive is required to address the Assembly at the beginning of each session on the policies determined by the President and also present a report on the performance of the Metropolitan Authority, his office as well as the state of the Metropolis.
According to the City Mayor, the report focused on how far the Assembly has come in its key performance areas for the past year, the challenges so far and more importantly, the way forward for 2023.
Highlights of the Sessional Address
· Governance
On Governance, the MCE said the Metropolitan Authority and its (11) Sub-Committees were all in place and functioning as expected, adding that, all the prescribed local governance structures; from the Sub-Metropolitan Council to Unit Committees were all also duly constituted and operating in the various areas.
He said the Assembly’s collaboration and co-operation with its sister-Assemblies in the greater and expanded Kumasi area to ensure holistic and sustainable development was also on course.
Hon. Sam Pyne noted that the Assembly was operating an open-door policy with these sister-Assemblies and other stakeholders in a bid to rebuild Kumasi.
On Security, the MCE said since it was a prime concern for the past year, the Assembly has worked closely with the Metropolitan and Regional Security Councils to ensure the overall peace, safety and security of the metropolis.
He cited the installation of street lights, enhancement of the free flow of vehicular and human traffic at the Central Business District (CBD) to ensure the safety and security of the citizens and also to restore sanity.
On Metro Guards, the MCE said there was the need to rebrand the guard front, adding that, it was worrying to hear both formal and informal reports about the conduct of the staff who happens to be the frontline of the Assembly’s interface with the general public.
On fire outbreaks, the Mayor said there had been a number of them during the past months, among them the Kejetia Market Fire on Wednesday 15th March,2023. He noted that a committee of Enquiry has been set up by the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development to ascertain the actual cause of the incident and prescribe solutions.
· Finance
He explained that the performance for Revenue and Expenditure was 95.53%and 88.10% respectively out of a 100% target which according to him is a great performance, taking into account the economic difficulties during the year under review.
He enumerated a number of measures which has been put in place, thus the successes, including;
1. Monitoring team conduct pre-audits to significantly reduce revenue leakages.
Data Center was successfully completed and equipped with two (2) six-seater workstations, six (6) desktop and three (3) laptop computers, four (4) UPS, and a network switch with all the network installations.
The DLRev is being used to manage the generation and printing of bill as well as revenue collectors trained on the use of the DLRev system for utilization, among others.
· Development Projects and Programmes
He said various projects and programmes in the sectors of Health, Education, Security, Sanitation, and others were being carried out.
Accordingto him, the Assembly was currently undertaking 27 projects as follows; 6Education Projects, 4 Road projects, 16 Water and Sanitationprojects, and 1 Governance project.
Other projects include the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area Sanitation and Water Project, International Municipal Investment Fund (IMIF),Holistic Reinforcement for Sustainable Development (HORESD), Global Mayor’s Challenge, and the construction of a Multi-Storey Car Park in Adum.
· Education
According to him, apart from the infrastructure provision, the KMA also catered for the soft aspects by sponsoring BECE mock examination for over Seven Thousand (7,000) candidates as well as providing educational materials for Kindergarten and Basic one pupils as part of My first day at School.
He said the KMA also distributed Three Thousand (3,000) energy saving bulbs to Fifteen (15) Senior High and Technical Schools in the metropolis.
· Agriculture
· Social Welfare and Community Development
He added that the Statutory assistance to Persons with Disability, Child Protection, and LEAP were all in course.
· Youth and Sports
The MCE said the KMA was trying to divert the attention of the youth from unhealthy habits such as gambling, substance abuse and other nefarious activities to sports.
Todo this, the MCE said the Assembly offered some support to the Metro Cross-Country Championships where the Athletes made the City proud at the National level.
· Urban Mobility
According to the Kumasi Mayor, congestion continues to be a headache for the KMA which he attributes to the ‘waawaa’ transport operations, loading at unapproved points and the use of pavements and walkways for trading.
He said a taskforce was on the ground working to help check these anomalies. Other interventions according to the Mayor were the Sustainable Urban Mobility Project (SUMP), Kumasi Urban Mobility Project (KUMAP), and Bloomberg Philanthropies for Global Road Safety project (BIGRS),
Challenges
Hon. Sam Pyne noted that the Assembly’s main challenge was with its finances and called on a concerted effort and co-operation of both Hon. Assembly members and Management to help the situation.
He subsequently urged the Assembly Members to intensify the educational campaigns on proper Waste Management practices especially “ cleaning our frontage”.
In conclusion, the MCE encouraged all to work together for the development and betterment of Kumasi and its people.
He mentioned that his doors were always opened for suggestions that would help move the KMA forward.