The Minister for Special Development Initiatives Mavis Hawa Koomson, has announced that government has made ready, $275 million for the implementation of the one constituency-one million dollars policy.
The sector minister made this disclosure during a programme of the Ministry of Special Development Initiatives to brief Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCES) on government’s priority areas on the Infrastructure Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP).
Speaking at the event, Minister Hawa Koomson explained that 70% of the $1 million for each constituency will be spent on government’s priority projects such as the one district-one factory, one village one dam, planting for food and jobs, among other core projects.
The remaining 30% she said, will be used for constituencies’ priority needs, which will be determined by a 10-member committee approved by the Cabinet. Mrs. Koomson said the ministry expects that it is the MMDCEs and stakeholders that will form the team that will decide the needs of the constituency and make plans to solve them.
Recall that the Akufo-Addo administration had earlier indicated that the IPEP would cater for its one constituency-one million dollars promise. A programme which is expected to have a direct link with the one district one factory project, estimated to cost GH¢456.3 million and create about 350,000 jobs.
The 10-member committee was necessary according to Minister Koomson, since some of the development authorities such as the Northern Development Authority, Coastal Development Authority, and the Middle Belt Development Authority, who are expected to work together with IPEP in determining the constituency needs, are yet to be approved by the parliament.
She pointed out that, President Akufo-Addo realized that waiting for the authorities to be approved before going ahead to carry out the development initiatives, will make things very difficult; hence the decision to create a provisional measure, to make implementation of the projects possible this year.
Emphasizing the guidelines for utilising the $1 million in each of the constituencies, Mrs. Koomson noted that, constituencies are not to exceed the 1 percent annual allocation for training and capacity building. The money is also not to be used for research activities, attending conferences and the payment of per diems.
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