Story: Kwame Asare Boadu, Tepa
WITHOUT any shred of doubt, the Ahafo Ano North District is one of the districts in the Ashanti Region that has seen some significant development since the inception of the decentralisation programme in the eighties.
Decentralisation has enabled the people to determine their priority development projects and initiate strategies to execute them.
But to any close observer who has followed the progress of the district over the years, there is no problem identifying the last three years as the period that has seen the best part of the district's development process.
That was the period the district assembly launched the integrated development approach. Stakeholders, technocrats, chiefs, civil society and ordinary people were actively involved in pursuing the right policies that would accelerate the progress made.
The integrated development approach was the initiative of the District Chief Executive (DCE), Nana Eric Agyemang Prempeh, who had then assumed office.
Nana Prempeh was to spearhead the activities of the district in 2005, at a time the Ahafo Ano North District was confronted with increasing challenges in various aspects of development — health, education, sanitation, agriculture and youth employment, among others.
Through the integrated approach, however, many significant achievements have been made in line with the objectives and priorities of the national development agenda.
A number of projects started by the immediate past DCE, Mr Akwasi Adu Poku, were completed. They include a six-unit classroom block for the Tepa Roman Catholic Primary School, a three-unit classroom block for Achiakrom Primary School, a six-unit classroom block for Anyinasuso Primary School, 29 boreholes in different communities and the Tepa sports stadium project.
One other area of development that has been effectively tackled using the integrated approach is the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP).
Under the programme, 331 out of the 600 unemployed youth earmarked in the Medium Term Development Plan, have secured employment. Out of the number, 75 have been engaged in Health Extension Training, 131 in Rural Education as Teaching Assistants, 35 in Waste and Sanitation and 250 in Youth in Agriculture.
Realising that education is the key to development, the authorities of the district have been directing a chunk of its budgetary allocation to that sector.
Some of the educational facilities that have been constructed or rehabilitated in the last three years include a teacher’s quarters and KVIP public place of convenience at Abonsuaso at a cost of GH¢26,000, a three-unit classroom block at Anyinasuso Presbyterian Primary School at a cost of GH¢39,000 a six-unit classroom block and an ancillary for the Tepa Model School at a cost of GH¢75,000 and the completion of a six-unit classroom block for the Tepa Senior High School at a cost of GH ¢76,000.
Some of the school buildings were also put up at Krakosua and Akwasiase.
Bearing in mind that the health of the people determines to a large extent the development of a community, the assembly has, in line with the government’s policy, taken upon itself to sponsor nurse trainees in various health institutions.
Since it is unthinkable to construct health facilities without complementary health workers to manage them, the assembly has over the years sponsored nurses and midwives to beef up the staff capacity of the district.
Under the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), 75 ward assistants have been trained and posted to the various communities of the district as a measure of making health care accessible to the rural people.
The assembly has been offering practical support for malaria, polio immunisation and HIV/AIDS programmes.
Other significant projects executed by the assembly within the last two years include the construction of staff quarters for Asuhyiae Health Centre, re-roofing of the main ward of the Tepa District Hospital, construction of nurses quarters at Asuhyiae and a Health Centre Annex at Manfo Grotto.
Agriculture is yet another area that has seen strides. Since the district is basically an agrarian area, the assembly has collaborated with other stakeholders to assist farmers to expand their farms.
For the past two years, the assembly in collaboration with some financial institutions, has been providing the farmers with soft loans not only to expand their farms, but also to adapt to modern agricultural practices.
The government’s mass cocoa spraying exercise in the district has also significantly increased cocoa yield.
As water and sanitation are crucial to quality health of the people, the Ahafo Ano North District Assembly has sunk a number of hand-dug wells fitted with pumps under the Community Water and Sanitation Agency.
Sixty-four communities in the district can boast of 105 boreholes while 114 of the communities have also been provided with 114 hand-dug wells.
As a result of population increase, many communities in the district are still in need of more boreholes and hand-dug wells. As a measure of finding a lasting solution to the perennial water shortage in the district, especially at Akwasiase and Mabang, a Small Town Water Project has been initiated through the efforts of the DCE.
The general sanitation of the district over the past two years has seen steady improvement as a result of the effective collaboration between the assembly and Zoomlion Ghana Limited, a private waste management company. Tricycles are available at vantage points for the proper disposal of solid waste while waste disposal sites have also improved significantly in the district.
The poor nature of roads in the district seriously hinders the development of the area. Currently, only 57 kilometres of the total road network in the district is motorable. Movement of people and haulage of goods become difficult, especially during the wet season, a situation that affects investment in the district.
In spite of the challenges, the assembly is making efforts to improve the deplorable roads in the district. It has acquired its own grader for the regular maintenance of its roads.
Rural electrification, justice and security and political development are some of the other areas that have also experienced much progress in the area.
Notwithstanding the marked progress achieved in the district, a lot more must be done to speed up the development of the area. The assembly must strive to increase its revenue base from local sources to complement the efforts of the government and other development partners in order to provide the district with more infrastructure facilities to raise the quality of life of the people.
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