A four-day capacity-building programme designed for members of the 9th Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly is underway at the Busua Beach Resort in the Ahanta West Municipality of the Western Region. The training, which centres on integrated urban governance, seeks to equip the Assembly Members to work for the development of their respective constituencies and the Metropolis. The training programme is the second for Assembly Members as part of the Twin-Cities in Sustainable Partnership Project (TCSPP) implementation on integrated urban governance for City Officials. Opening the training, the Metropolitan Chief Executive of STMA, Hon. Abdul-Mumin Issah, pointed out that Assembly Members have the principal role of deliberative, legislative and executive functions to promote the Assembly and positively impact their various constituencies. He noted that the continuous increase in population and urban sprawl over the decades, have created excessive pressure on inadequate infrastructure such as roads, drainage, trading areas and waste management. He pointed out that the training would enhance Assembly Members’ capacity to enable co-creation and implementation of sustainable strategies to address many problems associated with rapid urbanization, climate change and social exclusion.

He was hopeful that the training organized by the EU-funded TCSSP would significantly improve the Assembly’s urban development planning, enhance the permitting process and improve service delivery by the Assembly. Hon. Mumin-Issah expressed worry about the inability of the Assembly to elect a Presiding Member. He reiterated the need for consensus building in decisions as a House to serve their various communities and help enhance the Assembly’s image, adding that such would promote unity of purpose. On his part, the project coordinator, Mr. Isaac Aidoo, noted that the three-year TCSPP is in its last year of implementation. He indicated that the project has achieved significant successes, including training for women and youth in urban agriculture, construction of eco-friendly (smokeless) ovens for fish mongers, bio-digester household toilets and plastic waste recycling. He further noted that the project is constructing 500 household bio-digester toilets, 120 eco-friendly ovens and three (3) reproductive health centres at Kojokrom, Essipong and Diabenekrom. The Metro Coordinating Director, Mr. Innocent Haligah, urged the Assembly Members to fully participate in the training to acquire more knowledge in urban governance and decentralization to make meaningful contributions towards the development of the Metropolis.