The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of the Ayawaso East Municipal Assembly, Mr Abdul Ganiyu Ibrahim, has called for inclusive governance to drive sustainable development at the local level.

According to him, the development of the area was a shared responsibility which required that everyone irrespective of political affilia­tion, religion or creed put their shoulders to the wheel.

Mr Ibrahim made the call at a day’s stakeholder’s engagement organised by the Ayawaso East Municipal Assembly in Accra on Tuesday which was aimed at strengthening collaboration among residents, local authorities, and development partners within the municipality.

The event, held at the library Hall in Nima, brought together traditional leaders, youth groups, religious bodies, assembly mem­bers, civil society organisations, and representatives from key government agencies.

Some of the issues that were discussed during the engagement with the stakeholders centered on sanitation, road in­frastructure de­velopment, education and youth unemployment.

According to Mr Ibrahim, the Municipal Assembly would roll out various sensitisation pro­grammes to educate the people in the municipality on the impact of poor sanitation practices on their health to help address the issue of sanitation.

He said that the Municipal As­sembly had already started engag­ing sanitation officers, traders, and community and opinion leaders to ensure that they play a key role in the sensitisation exercise.

Mr Ibrahim further pledged to work with all stakeholders in addressing the various issues that confronted the people in the mu­nicipality.

“Your presence and participa­tion today are crucial, it is through your collective ideas, concerns, and recommendations that we will develop a plan that is not only stra­tegic but truly inclusive.” he said.

For her part, the Municipal De­velopment Planning Officer at the Municipal Assembly, Mrs Rebecca Anna, said the Municipal Assembly had achieved a lot in terms of de­velopment within the last 25 years.

These achievements, she said, were through inclusive, well-co­ordinated development planning aligned with national and global frameworks aimed at transforming the municipality.

Some of the achievements, she stated, were distribution of educational facilities, including tables and chairs to various schools within the municipality to enhance teaching and learning, construction medical buildings, the renovation of the National Ambulance Service Office, as well as the construction of drains.

Mrs Annan explained that before these projects were un­dertaken, key stakeholders in the municipality were often engaged to ensure that they became part of the whole planning process as well as the planning document which was signed by the MCE was prepared.