It offered a cross-section of the populace to seek clarifications from local authorities managing various sectors of the economy in the area.

The Tamale Mayor, Iddrisu Musah Superior flanked by some departmental heads gave an overview of their agenda and also addressed the concerns of participants there.

The Mayor reiterated government’s commitment to fulfill promises enshrined in the governing party’s 2016 campaign manifesto.

According to him, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo is focused on delivering good governance required to improve the wellbeing of all.

“I think that it is imperative for us as duty bearers to get our people abreast with the current development within the country and in our localities in particular.”

“It is important for us to understand that even though the forum has been localized the essence is not only to present to you matters that are related to the Tamale Metropolis but also national policies and programmes initiated by the Akufo Addo government.”

The Northern Regional Minister, Salifu Saeed in a speech read on his behalf touted the event as a practicality of the good governance President Nana Addo promised Ghanaians.

He thus tasked the remaining 25 Municipal and District Assemblies in the region to replicate the Town Hall Meetings.

Salifu Saeed said the populace deserved objective and accurate information on the assemblies budgetary allocations and disbursements.

The nationwide Town Hall meetings are spearheaded by the Ministry of Information.

–

By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Tamale Metropolitan Assembly holds Town Hall meeting appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The event which will be held across all the 216 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies across the country is aimed at depeening the governance system at the local level where the locals are factored into the decision making processes.

Speaking at the Event, the Local Government Minister Hajia Alima noted that the event is highly supported by her outfit and called on all MMDA’s nationwide to ensure active participation in the process.

“This programme is highly supported by my Ministry and I urge all MMDA’s to be involved at every process of this townhall meetings at their various localities”

She said the Assembly’s must include key issues discussed at the meetings on their agenda.

The Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid who launched the 2017 town hall meeting programme said ” the governance process should be a daily process hence the need to involve all stakeholders at all levels on different platforms. We have various levels of engagements where government engages with the Ghanaian citizenry for policy direction and the townhall meeting is one of such platforms where views are taken from the ordinary people.”

He added that the era where government waits till election time to communicate its plans are over but the Nana Addo administration seek to involve and engage the ordinary Ghanaian at every stage of it governance process.

He said the exercise will be replicated in all two hundred and sixteen Assemblies nationwide.

The Metropolitan Chief Executive of Tema, Felix Mensah-La also noted that the Assembly will take steps to ensure that the concerns, suggestions as well as criticisms raised by the people of Tema are looked into for possible redress to improve the lives of the people of Tema.

In attendance were Members of Parliament for the three constituencies in Tema, Titus Glover, Kofi Brako and Carlos Ahinkora.

The citizenry however took turns to ask their questions, criticised when necessary and offered the Assembly some suggestions at the event.

–

By: Elvis Washington/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Maiden Tema town hall meeting held appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

PowerAfrica is a four-day conference that “offers an international forum on advances in the development and deployment of technologies and business models that are realizing Africa’s energy future,” states the conference website.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ojPq6Dn2gaChXikc2wgeCz4y7fwfxieX”]The town hall meeting, held before Tuesday night’s opening ceremony, featured a panel of engineers, technicians, and development workers. Audience members asked questions after a formal question- and-answer session moderated by PowerAfrica organizer, Urenna Onywuchi.

Chris Mensah-Bonsu, President and CEO of MB Energy, who spoke on the panel, placed a part of the responsibility on African consumers to become knowledgeable about energy consumption and uses.

After asking the audience to raise their hands if they remembered to turn off their lights and air conditioners before they left home this morning, Mensah-Bonsu estimated that 60% of the medium-sized audience had not.

He insisted that if “Germany was where Africa is,” German people would have figured out what to do with African resources.

But one audience member, Benjamin Uhuna, an electrical engineer, disagreed. Uhuna stated that Africa has a unique set of issues and that simply copying solutions that have worked in other places was not sufficient.

Mensah-Bonsu later stated that, knowledge and critical thinking about each country’s situation is key.

Conference organizer Urenna Onywuchi bemoaned the lack of young Ghanaians in attendance, while taking an audience question on the high price of attending conferences like PowerAfrica.

“The average Ghanaian makes $4500 a year. How can they justify the price of attending a $180 conference?” the audience audience member wanted to know.

“Young people must plan and save and make an investment for their future”, Urenna Onyewuchi said in reply.

Barry Rawn, the conference technical program committee co-chair, stressed the importance of what he called “disruptive solutions,” which are solutions in which a person thinks critically, asks difficult questions, and thinks outside the box to find unique solutions.

When an audience member wanted to know what would happen if Ghanaians invested in solar energy and then used it to an unsustainable degree, Rawn stated, “It takes people like you to answer that question.”

The PowerAfrica Conference will take place at the GIMPA Law Faculty on June 27-June 30^th.

–

By: Joy Notoma/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post PowerAfrica town hall meeting tackles sustainable Energy in Ghana appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

In 2015, Prestea and eight adjoining communities – Heman, Bondai, Nsuta, Kpoviaji, Kwameniampa, Obuoho, Brumase and Ayinam, were hooked onto the national grid.

A total of 15,500 customers were added to the region’s customer base as a result.

In the past, Prestea had enjoyed virtually free power under the erstwhile Urban Electrification Project financed by the mining firms in the area.

Speaking at the event, Mr. George Amoah, the District Manager, praised the people of Prestea for their patience in the face of some initial implementation challenges.

He expressed hope that such engagements will be frequent to address concerns of customers in the area.

Present at the meeting were Assembly members, religious leaders, traditional rulers, small scale miners, retired mine workers among others.

The Western Regional Public Relations Officer for ECG, Philip Osei Bonsu, underscored the need to continuously create such opportunities for performance review and feedback.

He noted that through such engagements, public confidence in the operations of the company will hopefully improve.

Issues raised at the meeting ranged from billing, power supply quality and reliability, customer service to new service application.

–

By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post ECG holds Town Hall meeting in Prestea appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.