They are to ensure that the success and otherwise of the government’s policies, programmes and social interventions largely depended on their output and to prioritise their implementation as flagship policies.

Collins Ntim, the Deputy Minister of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, gave the reminder at a meeting with traditional authorities and departmental heads of the Asante Mampong Assembly in the Ashanti Region and inspected completed, ongoing and uncompleted ones in the municipality.

The visit was, among other issues, to assess the impact of the leadership of Thomas Appiah- Kubi, the Municipal Chief Executive and his working relationship with all stakeholders for the collective good of the people, growth and development of the area.

Mr Ntim underscored the need for MMDAs to pursue deliberate flagship policies to support, assist and promote local productive ventures with the potential to create jobs and wealth for the people and accelerate progress, growth and development of the municipality.

“Much as all the various flagship policies, programmes and social interventions of the government sought to improve the livelihoods of the citizenry to enable them to create jobs and wealth, the MMDAs also have a role to play in providing the enabling environment for local businesses to thrive.

“You have to assist and support socioeconomic activities in your jurisdictions to boost the local economy while improving the livelihoods of the people so as to also accelerate growth and development, so as stakeholders we have to put our shoulders to the wheel to spur socioeconomic growth,” Mr Ntim noted.

He applauded the level of peace, harmony, cooperation and unity between the Assembly and all relevant stakeholders and admonished them to maintain the rapport to accelerate the development of the area.

Mr Ntim, however, advised the Municipal Chief Executive, to continue to give more attention to agriculture to ensure more people benefitted from the numerous policies in the sector to improve their incomes saying “with huge potential for food production, the expectation is that more resources will be committed and dedicated to agriculture to get at least 60 per cent of the population to venture into farming,” he pointed out.