The Sunyani for Development Association (SFDA), an apolitical group, has appealed to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to consider qualified and committed indigenes when making political appointments for the Sunyani Municipality.

According to the group, that would help to overcome the challenge of non-accelerated socio-economic progress of the ‘city’.

They contended that the “snail-pace development of Sunyani overtime was negatively impacting the socio-economic lives of the people, hence the need for urgent attention and structural change”.

The SFDA is a non-ethnic, non-religious and non-political community development association with membership consisting of residents of Sunyani, both indigenes and non-indigenes and others living in other parts of Ghana and abroad.

It aims to collaborate with stakeholders in promoting progressive and sustainable socio-economic development in Sunyani to enhance the livelihoods of residents and generations yet unborn.

In a press statement signed by Mr Kwadwo Boahen and Dr Mrs Vida Korang, chairman and secretary respectively and copied the Ghana News Agency on Monday in Sunyani, the association alleged Sunyani had not had meaningful and well-designed completed socio-economic development projects for some time now.

It attributed the situation to the unconcerned attitude of some political office holders appointed for Sunyani by successive governments.

“Our careful observation shared by many stakeholders indicates Sunyani Municipality is late in development as a result of actions and inaction of some persons and entities, public and private, at all levels of responsibilities, who have been entrusted with the responsibility of managing affairs”.

“Their poor relation and apparent lack of social accountability among some position holders caused the current state of the Municipality, which reflects a collective and systemic failure by such entities and individuals not upholding due care and duty towards the development of the city”.

This was unfortunate frost relations that stalled the progress of development of the city, the statement said, adding the situation was worsening the trade and industry hardships of Sunyani as the regional capital and its residents.

It stressed there was, therefore, the need for committed and qualified indigenes who have Sunyani at heart to holdpublic office there and collaborate with the traditional authorities to put structures into the proper shape to improve the socio-economic development of the municipality for future generations.

It cited the Sunyani ring road project which aimed at easing vehicular traffic in Sunyani as one of the crucial projects that had not been done.

The nature, size and facilities at the Sunyani central market and lorry stations, the statement emphasised, were far limitedin matching the demands of the increasing population of the regional capital.

It added there was weak coordination and collaboration among institutions, state-owned and private, and the phenomenon had over the period negatively impacted resource allocation and resulted in the neglect of the development of the area.