The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) is planning to provide a temporary holding center for street children, which has been identified as a challenge in the Metropolis.
Mr. Osei Asibey Antwi, the Mayor, contended that the issue of street children, beggars, persons with mental issues/disability and prostitution among others, continue to be a challenge in the Metropolis.
He told the first Ordinary Meeting of the second session of the Assembly on Monday that the
social services sub-committee adopted the sub-committee’s recommendation for the renovation of some abandoned school structures at New Bantama M/A, Kookooase, within the Metropolis, as a temporary holding center.
The mayor also stated that, in view of the increasing number of youth engaged in betting and gaming activities, the Youth and Sports sub-committee has met with the leadership of the gaming /betting Commission, upon which they have accordingly been advised to restrict persons below 18 years from registering or engaging in the activity.
As a result, the Authority Committee has agreed to resource the sub-committee and other relevant departments to undertake monitoring and enforcement.
The mayor further disclosed that on the issue of Astroturf, the report received indicated that the parks were being managed by individuals who charge unapproved fees without recourse to the
Assembly, for which reason the Executive committee has recommended that the Assembly engages the Member of Parliament to revert the management of the facility to the Assembly, to ensure the proper maintenance and management of the facility.
Mr. Osei Asibey revealed that, in curbing the challenge of ”DoubleTrack” system and to improve teaching and learning, about seven Senior High School projects were completed and commissioned in the first quarter of the year.
The schools include; Kumasi Anglican SHS, T.I. Ahmaddiya MASS, Kumasi Armed Forces, Kumasi Secondary Technical, Kumasi Adventist, Asantemanand Serwaah Nyarko SHSs, while the newly constructed J.A. Kufuor Senior High School, located at Sokoban has been commissioned and has enrolled over Six Hundred (600) students this academic year, to boost access to government’s Free Senior High School policy.
He disclosed that, in dealing with the challenges confronted by Public Basic Schools in the Metropolis, the Education Sub-Committee noted that the directive to Education Directorates not to charge any fee on pupils and students were negatively affecting the issue of utility,
payment of watchmen and sanitation issues among others, which he said was feasible for the Assembly to take over such costs.
According to the Mayor, the Authority Committee after extensive deliberation on the matter recommended that, the Assembly should pass a resolution to inform the Ministry to reconsider such a decision and permit the Education Directorate to levy students for the running of the schools.
He also disclosed that to diminish congestion in the city, the Justice and Security Committee had recommended that the city be segregated into zones with a specific number of metro guards assigned to the various zones to supervise.
Meanwhile, the Assembly is taking steps to install streetlights at various vantage points at the Abinkyi market, Race Course and Central Markets, to help curb criminal activities and find means to evacuate the squatters from the markets.
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