TMA, TWMA needs transition team for assets sharing, MP

Mr Kingsley Carlos Ahinkorah, Member of Parliament for Tema West and Deputy Minister of Trade has called for a transitional team for assets sharing between the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) and the Tema West Municipal Assembly (TWMA).

Mr Ahinkorah appealed to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to urgently form the transition team to prevent a clash between the two assemblies over who owns what.

The TWMA, which was inaugurated in the first quarter of this year, was carved out of the TMA.

Speaking at the General Assembly Meeting of the TWMA on Friday, said 'we need a transitional team to discuss with TMA to give us what rightfully belongs to us, we can't start from ground zero'.

He therefore charged Assembly Members to come out with a resolution strongly insisting on the formation of a transitional team to enable TWMA collect what belonged to it.

He stated that all assets must be shared fairly and documented adding that there were a lot of buffer zones such as the Tema Port and the Free Zone Enclave which could not belong to one assembly, therefore an agreement must be made concerning how to take revenue from those areas and the mode of sharing.

The Deputy Minister stated for instance that, officials from TMA went and locked a factory with the excuse that the company had already paid its rates to the TWMA.

He further said due to the unavailability of such a transition team to properly share and document assets between the TMA and the Kpone-Katamanso Municipal Assembly (KKMA), it had created confusion among the two assemblies at the detriment of investors operating in the Freezone enclave.

Touching on other issues, he urged assembly members to put behind them conflicts they had under TMA, and unite to work to build the new assembly and the area.

He announced that he was constructing a kitchen and dining hall for pupils of the Sakumono Village, Old Lashibi, Aggrey Road, Baatsonaa and Tema Community Five number three basic schools to enhance hygiene and table manners.

The pupils, who benefit from the School Feeding Programme, eat in their classrooms or stand anyway to eat.

The reading of the sessional address by Mrs Adjoa Amoako, Tema West Municipal Chief Executive, was postponed due to the inability of majority of the invited stakeholders to attend the meeting.

GNA

By Laudia Sawer, GNA