In line with the agenda to ensure inclusively and accelerated bottom-up socio-economic development in the middle belt zone, the government of Ghana established the Middle Belt Development Authority(MBDA) by an Act of Parliament, Act 962 in 2017.
The Authority's mandate is to implement the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme(IPEP) through the One Million Dollars per One Constituency fund to accelerate economic and social development in the Middle Belt Development Zone through the strategic direction in the planning and prioritization of development projects.
It is against this background that the Chief Executive Officer for the MBDA is officially embarking on a regional tour with his monitoring team to inspect projects in the middle belt development zone to ensure effective monitoring of projects to avoid shoddy works by the contractors. He started the monitoring from the Eastern and Ashanti regions and proceeded to Ahafo Region.
And, on Friday, 16 July 2021, the Chief Executive Officer for the Middle Belt Development Authority, Hon. Joe Danquah, the Deputy CEO with oversight responsibility in Ahafo, Bono, and Bono-East regions, Mr. Alexander Ferka, the Head of Communications Mr. K.B Asante, and the entire team from the regional office in Sunyani embarked on a special monitoring exercise in the Asutifi-South district to inspect the MBDA projects and held project site meetings in Dadiesoaba, Nkaseim, Hwidiem, and Acherensua.
These projects included the construction of modern dormitories in Dadiesoaba Nursing Training School, Hwidiem SHS, and Acherensua SHS. The dormitories are architecturally characterized by house master's/mistress's accommodation, ironing shed, mechanized water system, internal open space for washing and drying of attires, sizable compound, water closets, bathroom, etc. Also, four completed modern 20-Seater WC toilets with mechanized boreholes were equally not left out during the inspection in the above towns. These modern toilet facilities have inbuilt bathrooms and dressing rooms.
The Principal of Dadiesoaba Nursing Training School, Mrs. Marcelina Teni Kwose, thanked the CEO for Middle Belt Development Authority and urged the Authority to complete the dormitory project and hand it over to the school on time. According to her, the school has to transport students who have been accommodated at a nearby town called Mehame to Dadiesoaba to attend classes and send them back on daily basis every week.
She said that, this transportation cost has been eating into the school's resources and if the facility is handed over to them, the school could accommodate about two hundred and fifty (250) students in the dormitory to safe the school from incurring costs in the transportation of students. The Omanhene of Dadiesoaba, Nana Atta Mensah, and his Elders also commended the Authority and the government of Ghana for constructing these modern dormitory and toilet facility in his town. He pleaded with the Authority to commission the Doctor's bungalow and the dormitory which have been funded through One million dollars per One Constituency fund for the community to benefit from them. The CEO and his entourage were accompanied by the DCE for Asutifi-South District Assembly and the chiefs to commission the 20-Seater WC toilet for the people of Dadiesoaba.
The team proceeded to Nkaseim to inspect another 20-Seater WC toilet with mechanized borehole. The chief and the people of Nkaseim applauded the Authority for this magnificent toilet facility and pleaded for the immediate commissioning of the facility and requested for the construction of another toilet in the other part of the town.
From Nkaseim, the CEO and his team went to Hwidiem to inspect two 20-Seater WC toilets and the new girls dormitory the Authority is building for Hwidiem Senior High School.
A project site meeting was held in the school to ascertain the progress of work. Nananom became excited about this nice edifice and profusely thanked the government of Ghana and the Middle Belt Development Authority and asked for more developmental infrastructures from the MBDA to uplift the image of the district capital. The Headmaster of Hwidiem Senior High School, Mr. Oppong Francis, also commended the Authority and underscored the impacts of the new dormitory to the school. He said that, the new dormitory would increase the enrollment of girls in the boarding house.
Again, the attachment of house mistress' accommodation would promote and enhance effective monitoring of the students in the house.
He said the facility would promote and ensure improved sanitation in the school since it is provided with mechanized water system, modern Water closet toilets, and bathrooms. Moreover, the Headmaster emphasized that it would help in the decongestion of the overcrowded situation at the existing girls’ dormitory in the era of this Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
Finally, he touched on the school's 2020 WASSCE results and pleaded with the Middle Belt Development Authority and the government of Ghana to provide more infrastructures for the school to compete with other renowned schools in the country since the school produces very good WASSCE results.
Lastly, the CEO and his team went to Acherensua Senior High School to inspect the newly constructed girls dormitory and held site meeting with all the key stakeholders.
The headmaster of the school, Mr. John Yeboah, expressed joy and happiness and demonstrated his gratefulness to the government of Ghana and the Authority for giving this nice edifice to his school. He said that, the dormitory would be able to accommodate about two hundred and forty girls to ease the pressure on the old girls dormitory and it would also increase the number of toilet facilities in the school.Mr. Yeboah John further stated that the dormitory would go a long way to improve on the privacy of the girls and also ensure effective monitoring of students movements in the school since the dormitory is already fenced by its walls.
Lastly, the Headmaster made a passionate appeal to the Authority and humbly reiterated that the dormitory should be released to the school with immediate effect since the school needs it badly.
This was confirmed when the students of Acherensua Senior High School called on the CEO of Middle Belt Development Authority to commission the dormitory and hand over to them since they have already fixed their metal beds in the rooms.
During the press briefing segment of the monitoring exercise which took place at Acherensua SHS in the Asutifi-South District, the CEO of Middle Belt Development Authority told the media that the One Million Dollars per One Constituency fund is the source of funding for about One hundred and twenty-two(122) projects the MBDA is executing in Ahafo Region for the year 2020.
Again, he stressed on the importance for constructing the toilet facilities and the dormitories for the three educational institutions in the district. He added that the dormitories would increase the intake of students into the boarding house of these schools. Furthermore, he pleaded with Chiefs and Elders, the DCE for the district and the heads of the beneficiary institutions or the user agencies to manage and maintain the facility well by practically adopting maintenance culture to promote the future sustainability of the MBDA projects in the constituency.
In furtherance of the above, the CEO said the Authority would not sit back, but would embark on regular checks to see if the beneficiary institutions or communities are ensuring the longevity of these projects. He finally thanked the media and urged them to publish what they have come to witness about the Middle Belt Development Authority in Asutifi-South District and what the One Million Dollars per One Constituency fund has been utilized to produce for the Ghanaian people in the Asutifi-South District in the Ahafo Region.
