Oti Region – October 8, 2021: The Head of the Local Government Service, Ing. Dr. Nana Ato Arthur attended the inauguration of the Guan District at Lipke-Mate in the Oti Region.
The Head of Service in his address noted that a Coordinating Director and thirty-four (34) Local Government Service staff have been posted to the Assembly. He said the staff, which includes heads of departments and units are to ensure the functionality of the Assembly in the shortest possible time pending the nomination of a District Chief Executive by the President and the subsequent approval of same by the Assembly Members in the weeks ahead.
He urged the staff to uphold and abide by the values, principles and Code of Conduct of the Service. He advised the staff to learn and appreciate the culture of the people in the jurisdiction of the Assembly in order to foster good working relationships with community members. He called on staff to be open minded and eschew partisanship in the performance of their duties.
The Minister for Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development, Mr. Dan Botwe in his inaugural address said the creation of the Guan District Assembly is a new beginning for the people of the area. He said MLGD&RD will support the new Assembly until it is able to function on its own. The Minister on behalf of the President presented two vehicles – a Toyota Hilux and a Nissan HardBody to the Assembly. This was in addition to office equipment including, computers and accessories, televisions, printers, scanners, wireless routers, refrigerator, projector among others to facilitate the conduct of work.
The Regional Minister for the Oti Region, Hon. Joseph Makubu, praised the President, the Minister for Local Government, Parliament, the Electoral Commission and the traditional leaders among others for the respective roles they played that led to the establishment of the Assembly. He also commended the Joint Consultative Committee for a mandate well delivered.
The Paramount Chief of the Likpe Traditional Area, Nana Soglo Alloh IV and Dr. Obed Asamoah, a statesman from the area and a former Minister of Justice and Attorney General who were all present at the ceremony were optimistic that the Assembly will contribute to address the felt needs of local residents which is crucial for local and national development. They both commended all whose tireless efforts made the establishment of the Guan District a reality.
The Assembly Member for the Lolobi Kulasi Electoral Area, Mr. Kenneth Bright Norviewu, was duly elected as the Presiding Member for Assembly as part of the inaugural ceremony.
The people of the Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe and Lolobi (SALL) traditional areas have been without an administrative district after the Oti Region was carved from the Volta Region since 2019. The Guan District was created following a Legislative Instrument laid in Parliament by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development in 2019. The Assembly consists of 13 Electoral Areas and this bring the total number of MMDAs in the country to 261.