Birim Central will benefit from the secondary cities project of $ 100 million

Regional News from Thursday, April 4, 2019

Source: Emmanuel Yaw Acheampong, DSI

2019-04-04

The Birim Central Municipal Assembly, in the east of the country, has been selected from some 25 municipalities to benefit from the Ghana Secondary Cities Support Program (GSCSP).

The program targets institutional and infrastructural development in emerging and secondary cities of the country – it aims to address some of the important development challenges while helping to implement the government's decentralization and urban development policies.

Mr. Kwabena Bempong, Director General of the Central Municipality of Birim (MCE), made the announcement on Tuesday at the meeting of the General Assembly of the Birim Central Municipal Assembly in Akyem- Oda.

"I am pleased to announce that the Assembly is one of 25 municipalities in the country to benefit from the Ghana Secondary Cities Support Program (GSCSP)," he said.

It is an agreement between the Government of Ghana and the International Development Association (IDA).

The other beneficiaries of the second phase of financial badistance are the municipality of New Juaben South, the municipality of East Akyem and the municipality of Lower Manya Krobo, all located in the Eastern region. Agona West Municipality, Awutu-Senya-East and Mfantsiman, all located in the central region. The others are: Suame, Asokwa, Old Tafo and Obuasi in the Ashanti region; Municipality of Berekum East, Sunyani Municipality, Techiman Municipality and Dormaa Central Municipality, all located in the Brong Ahafo area.

The others are the municipality of Effia Kwesimintsim, municipality of Sefwi Wiaso, in the western region; Municipality of Sagnarigu, municipality of East Mamprusi and municipality of Gonja de l'Est, all located in the North region; Municipality of Bawku and Municipality of Bolgatanga in the Far East Region; Ho Municipality and Hohoe Municipality in the Volta Region; and the municipality of Wa in the far west region. Mr. Bempong noted that the development of these secondary cities would enable them to play their key role as administrative centers; as incubators for the development of small enterprises and as nodal points of the links between rural and urban areas.

According to him, it would be a matter of developing the municipal capitals of the beneficiary municipalities. The facilities were selected according to the population of between 100,000 and 250,000 inhabitants and bademblies composed of at least 60% of the urban population.

Siding government flagship programs, Mr Bempong revealed that the Planting for Food and Employment initiative had registered a significant increase from 247 farmers in 2017 to 1,500. He added that corn productivity at the end of the year had also increased by 25%.

He revealed that the municipality had also been selected for a special pilot project on rice, with 110 hectares of rice being grown this year.

About the local industrialization initiative of the One District Initiative, One Factory (1D1F), Mr Bempong said that a business plan of Abibimo , a rice flour milling company based in Oda Nkwanta, had been submitted to the 1D1F secretariat for review and appealed to the secretariat to speed up the process to allow the company to begin operations.