Yilo Krobo DCE donates two-month salary for NHIS…to register 500 aged people

In order to promote the
National Health Insurance
Scheme (NHIS) in the Yilo-
Krobo District, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of the area, Mr. Joseph Adu Tawiah, has donated GH¢1,000 to the area, to register 500 aged people across the district.

He considered the amount donated, as his two months salary, being given out to ensure that people above 70, would receive the necessary medical treatment.

Speaking to The Chronicle, in an interview, he said when he took over in 2006, the number registered for the Scheme was only 5,000, but due to consistent campaigns, as of the end of the first quarter of this year, they could boast of about 47,000 registered people, representing about 50% of the population of the district.

“I felt the poor are those who need the insurance scheme, because when they are sick, they may not have money to attend hospital, so since I came, I went round preaching to them on the need to register for the scheme,” he reiterated.

Touching how the district was able to generate internal funds, Mr. Adu Tawiah intimated that the Boti Falls was a major tourist attraction, and the siting of a limestone quarry, had been very beneficial, for generating income for the development of the area.

He noted that they mostly relied on the district's share of the common fund, and donor agencies, including DANIDA and the European Union, for the building of schools and markets.

He was glad that the Assembly, through his stewardship, had been able to control the reckless driving attitude of commercial vehicles in the area.

“There was formerly a roundabout in the centre of the town, so I thought that why wouldn't you remove it and replace it with a traffic light, so now the drivers cannot park there, like they used to do. Now, when you go there, you will see some sanity there,” he reiterated.

He said one area which, had become a problem, was the rampant flooding which used to occur, but they have been able to tackle that problem, and now when it rains one does not have to panic.

According to him, in order to maintain the prestige of being the leading producer of mangoes in Ghana, the community has formed the Mango Growers Association, to collaborate with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, to purchase a processing machine, so that the mangoes would not get spoilt when stored.

In the meantime, a German in the area has some processing machines, as a result the mango producers are able to process their mangoes into juice.

Explaining why they have not been able to put up the processing machine, the DCE said the community they intended to put up the plant in, had no electricity, but now they were putting up the poles to connect them to the national grid, so they could start the project.

Recounting some of the developments that had taken place in the district, he stated that four-unit teachers blocks had been put up in four communities, and a countless number of classroom blocks.

He said they had connected a number of communities, to the roads network, to promote farming.