GOASO TOWN ROADS TO BE GIVEN FACELIFT (PAGE 40)

THE Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku, has announced plans by the government to give roads in Goaso, capital of the Asunafo North Municipality, a facelift.
Roads in Goaso have been in a deplorable condition for some years now making a mockery of the town’s status as a municipal capital.
Persistent appeals by residents to the authorities to do something about the situation had not achieved any positive results. 
Mr Opoku said the process leading to the execution of the project would start just after the Asunafo North Municipal Assembly had approved the government’s nominee for the position of Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Mohammed Doku.
He, therefore, appealed to the assembly to vote to accept the nominee when the time came.
The deputy minister made this known at the joint ceremony to introduce the Omanhene of Goaso, Nana Kwasi Bosomprah and raise funds in aid of a palace for the traditional area at Goaso on Sunday.
Nana Bosomprah, 42, ascended the stool about seven months ago after the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who is the traditional overlord of the area, settled the protracted chieftaincy dispute that polarised the town in the aftermath of the abdication of the former Omanhene, Nana Adjei Ampofo, in 2000.
It was all joy as hundreds of people including chiefs clad in white attire besieged the Goaso town park where the ceremony took place.
The deputy regional minister acknowledged the contributions of farmers to the development of the nation and said the government had put in place a number of measures to address the problems facing them.
He cited for instance that the NDC government had decided to sustain the mass cocoa spraying exercise started by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government and even add to it by introducing an anti-swollen shoot spraying exercise.
That measure, Mr Opoku said, would ensure greater yields and provide employment for the youth.
He urged the people to have faith in the government to fulfil its electoral promises.
Mr Opoku called for unity in the town without which efforts by the government to bring development to the area would not be successful.
In a speech, the omanhene thanked the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, for his love for the traditional area, which saw him getting the Asante Council to resolve the chieftaincy dispute in the area.
He said the traditional area had banned children below 18 years from roaming the streets after 8 p.m.
That measure, he said, was to ensure that schoolchildren kept to their books, stressing, “I am determined to make education an important part of my reign.”
Nana Bosomprah also spoke against haphazard development in the town and said he would ensure that illegal developments became a thing of the past “because Goaso deserves the best”. 
The omanhene called on supporters of the various political parties, especially those of the NPP and NDC, to put the results of the 2008 general election behind them and unite to bring development to the area.
“We have a government in place and we must support it to deliver. If the government fails to perform, all of us will suffer, “ he said.
The Member of Parliament for Asunafo North, Mr Robert Sarfo-Mensah, called on the people to rally behind the new chief to ensure his successful reign.
He gave the assurance that he would continue to champion the cause of the communities in the constituency so that what was due to the constituency from the national cake would be given out.