JOMORO MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLY DONATES DESKS TO THE GHANA EDUCATION SERVICE DIRECTORATE (GES) IN HALF-ASSINI
On Tuesday, August 8, 2023, Hon. Louisa Iris Arde, Municipal Chief Executive for Jomoro, led the assembly to donate six hundred and twenty (620) desks to the Ghana Education Service (GES) directorate in Half-Assini The desks comprised of Five Hundred Dual desks and One Hundred and Twenty Mono desks which will serve a total student population of One Thousand, One Hundred and Twenty (1120) to help reduce the furniture deficit in the Municipality. She urged the directorate to ensure that schools within the Municipality that currently need these furniture are prioritised whilst the Assembly works towards bringing more to solve the problem confronted with by other schools. The education directorate thanked Hon. Louisa Iris Arde for the donation, which they said is timely and would go a long way to help the schools to deal with the furniture challenges they are currently faced with
MUNICIPAL CHIEF EXECUTIVE VISITS BECE EXAMINATION CENTERS
The Municipal Chief Executive for Jomoro Municipal Assembly Hon. Louisa Iris Arde on Monday 7th August 2023 visited Seven (7) out of the Nine (9) Basic Education Certificate Examination Centers (BECE) across the Municipality. She was accompanied by the Municipal Coordinating Director, Mrs. Joyce Akosua Angmorteh Miezah, the Municipal Education Director; Mrs. Edith Mary Hagan and other Municipal Assembly and Education Directorate officials. Data available from the Municipal Education Directorate indicate that a total number of Two Thousand, Nine Hundred and Forty-Eight (2,948) candidates made up of Thousand Five Hundred and one (1,501) Boys and Thousand Four Hundred and Forty-Seven (1,447) Girls are writing this year’s BECE. Hon. Louisa Iris Arde encouraged, inspired and wished all the candidates well and admonished them to give out their very best to benefit from the Free Senior High School policy introduced by the government and assured them of her support in their future endeavours.
THE MUNICIPAL CHIEF EXECUTIVE VISITS FLOOD VICTIMS
The Municipal Chief Executive for Jomoro Municipal Assembly, Hon. Louisa Iris Arde on Wednesday 5th July 2023 led the management of the Assembly and officials from Ghana Gas Company Limited to visit residents of Nzulezo who had been affected by the flood to commiserate with the victims. Her visit follows a downpour on 25th June 2023, leaving several homes inundated by flood waters. Addressing the residents, the MCE said she had been touched by the plight of the victims and had embarked on the visit to commiserate with them and to use the opportunity to solicit first-hand information on the havoc caused by the floods and offer support to restore the damaged areas and provide relief items to sustain them in the interim until things get better.
GHANA NATIONAL GAS COMPANY HANDS OVER RENOVATED CLASSROOM BLOCK TO THE MUNICIPAL EDUCATION DIRECTORATE
Ghana National Gas Company has officially handed over a rehabilitated 6-unit classroom Block to the Jomoro Municipal Education Directorate in Half Assini. At a brief ceremony held at Half Assini Catholic School premises to inaugurate the facility, the Municipal Chief Executive for Jomoro, Hon. Louisa Iris Arde impelled the school authorities to keep the facility in a pristine stage and pleaded with Ghana Gas to rehabilitate the JHS block which has deteriorated and impeded teaching and learning. Present at the ceremony were Nana Ayebie Amihere, Chief of Half Assini, officials from Ghana Gas led by Mr Joseph Ehoneah, Community Relations Officer, Rev, Nii Noi Dawuna, Local Manager, Mrs Joyce Akosua Angmorteh Miezah, Municipal Coordinating Director, Parents and Teachers of the school.
JOMORO MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLY DONATES ROOFING SHEETS TO RE-ROOF AMOAKWASUAZO TEACHERS’ QUARTERS
On the 15th of May, 2023, a rainstorm swept across various communities in the Jomoro Municipality and left a trail of considerable damage to the roof and electrical wirings of Amokwawsuazo Teachers’ Quarters. With a sense of urgency, Hon. Louisa Iris Arde, the Municipal Chief Executive for Jomoro Municipal Assembly, donated 40 pieces of roofing sheets to support the re-roofing of Amokwawsuazo teachers’ quarters. The donation was in response to a clarion call by the headteacher through the Assemblyman to the Municipal Assembly to help re-roof the teachers’ quarters. In handing over the items to the head teacher of the school, the MCE commended the community for initiating the self-help project of putting up a building to accommodate the teachers. She assured them of her readiness to ensure that the teachers get a benefitting accommodation to motivate them to stay and teach the children. In addition, the MCE vouchsafed to pay for the cost of rewiring the building and other costs that would be incurred. The headteacher of the school, Mr Samuel Ebo Asare expressed gratitude to the Assembly for the prompt intervention and urged the Assembly to come to their aid anytime the school called for support.
HANDING OVER OF HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE AND EQUIPMENT TO PORT HEALTH OF GHANA HEALTH SERVICE AT ELUBO
On Wednesday, 24th May 2023, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and International Organization for Migration (IOM) handed over health infrastructure facilities and equipment to the Port Health Unit at Elubo in the Jomoro Municipality. At a brief ceremony held at Elubo Border to hand over the facilities and equipment, the Municipal Chief Executive for Jomoro Municipal Assembly, Hon. Louisa Iris Arde expressed her delight in witnessing the handing over. She said she believed the facility would go a long way to enhance the capacity of the Port Health Unit to effectively deliver on its mandate. She added that the facilities would help to prevent the infiltration of suspected cases of contagious diseases such as Ebola, Marburg Virus and other infectious diseases and suspected cases would be easily identified and isolated for further diagnoses. Hon. Louisa Iris Arde conveyed gratitude to the Japanese International Corporation Agency (JICA) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for their facilitating role in making the project a reality and assured that the Municipal Assembly would collaborate with JICA and other development partners to implement more local economic development projects and social intervention programs for the well-being of the people of Jomoro. The MCE drew attention to poor maintenance culture and held that some important national monuments and edifices have become a pale shadow of their former glory due to poor maintenance culture. She urged the Port Health Officials to guide and put the facilities in a pristine state to ensure longevity, enabling them to gather the confidence to ask for more in the future. The facilities include a modern 6-Unit WASH facility for border officials and travellers, a fully furnished prefab isolation centre and solar systems, one ambulance, 12 laptops, tablets, pressure monitors and accessories. In attendance were Dr Gifty Amugi (Dept, Dir. of Public Health-Western Region), Mrs Joyce Akosuah Angmorteh Miezah (Coordinator, Jomoro Municipal Assembly), Kwadwo Wilmot (IOM), Ms Suzuki Momoko (Chief Representative, JICA Ghana Office), Representative from UNDP, Mr Tetsnya Imaoka (Embassy of Japan), Dr Lawrence Lartey (Ghana Health Service), Customs and Immigration Service of Ghana and Cote D’ Ivoire, Hon. Ebenezer Paul Angovi (Assemblyman, Elubo West) and Traditional leaders of Elubo
ECOWAS CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION PROGRAM FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A YOUTH RESOURCE CENTRE AT ELUBO IN THE JOMORO MUNICIPALITY
The Municipal Chief Executive for Jomoro Municipal Assembly, Hon. Louisa Iris Arde on 11th May, 2023 led officials of the National Youth Authority (NYA), headed by the Western Regional Director, Mr. Edwin Amponsah to inspect a site earmarked for the construction of a Youth Resource Centre at Elubo. According to a research conducted by the National Youth Authority, it has been identified that there are a lot of crime related activities in Elubo including drug trafficking and illegal mining. Recently, there have been cases of human trafficking where Ghanaians and other foreign nationals were arrested for attempting to traffic young girls to Cote D’Ivoire for prostitution. Ghana has been losing thousands if not millions of cedis to smugglers who are mostly unemployed youth at various unapproved routes at Elubo.The causal factors include:lack of access to youth resource centresLack of support systems and business opportunitiesInadequate psycho-social counsellors.Inadequate knowledge of SRH issuesweak institutional linkagesPer the research, it is evident that there is the need for the establishment of a youth resource centre in Elubo to address these challenges. Taking cognisance of the vital ingredients that go into the establishment of such centres, strategic partnerships should be built to ensure their functionality.The project goal is to provide youth friendly services and economic empowerment opportunities to the border communities of both countries. The project aims to construct a well-equipped youth resource center where young people can have access to ASRH information, psycho-social counselling, job opportunities and business support services. Volunteers will be recruited through NYA’s National Youth Volunteer Program to execute this project. The multi-purpose center will have the following facilities: General office, Counselling center, Language center, Commerce and trade center (AfCFTA office), Migration secretariat, Health/Screening center, Conference room and 2 dormitories. PROVISION OF YOUTH-FRIENDLY SERVICESThe Youth Resource Centre will be run by resource persons and professional volunteers that will provide services like Sexual and Reproductive Health care for young people, psychosocial counselling for drug addicts and at-risk youth.Also, an AfCFTA Secretariat at the center will provide business support services and opportunities to young traders and entrepreneurs. To tackle the issue of the language barrier, a center will be established for the youth to access the services of interpreters.Per the psychology of the youth, the centre will be youth-friendly, and beneficiaries will be accorded the necessary privacy and confidentiality, as well as ample attention.PARTNERSHIPSNYA will directly implement the project with the support of Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) such as the Ghana Immigration Service, AfCFTA Secretariat, Ghana Enterprise Agency, NCCE, Ghana Police Service, Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service, the Food and Drugs Authority, Mental Health Authority, the National Drugs Authority (NDA), NACOB, the Department of Social Development, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, Religious bodies and Traditional Authorities.The project is anticipated to commence after assessment of the site and approval by the Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority, Hon. Pious Enam Hadzide and will be completed and inaugurated in September 2023.
JOMORO MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLY AND GHANA SHIPPERS AUTHORITY INAUGURATE ELUBO ARTICULATOR TERMINAL.
The Jomoro Municipal Assembly in collaboration with Ghana Shippers Authority yesterday 28th January, 2022 Inaugurated the Elubo Freight Park popularly known as Elubo Articulator Terminal. The Municipal Chief Executive, Hon. Louisa Iris Arde in her remark expressed her profound gratitude to the Board and CEO of the Ghana Shippers Authority for the support and commitment to the construction of the Terminal. She extended her appreciation to all and sundry who had contributed to the successful completion of the project. She acknowledged the exemplary collaboration between the two chiefs of Elubo and the Security Agencies and all stakeholders. She emphasised the critical role the facility project would play in terms of revenue mobilization for the government because Elubo has been the Economic heart-beat of the Jomoro Municipality. The Hon. Municipal Chief Executive said that the objectives of the construction of this terminal is to reduce the human and vehicular traffic congestion at Elubo, to help promote Local Economic Development on the border enclave and also reduce the inconveniences that transport drivers and operators go through while in transit on the border. The Hon. Chief Executive pledged to ensure that there would be high quality maintenance culture in the management of the facility. The Chairperson of the Ghana Shippers Authority, Madam Stella Wilson, reminded the gathering of the Authority’s mandate to ensuring effective and efficient protection and promotion of the interest of shippers in Ghana’s commercial shipping sector and for Ghana’s international trade value-chain. She was of high expectation that more trade volumes would be moved across the border with the introduction of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA), hence, the promptitude of the Freight and Logistics Park at Elubo. Nana Affikah Anwomiah Kpanyinli who represented the Chief of Elubo thanked the Jomoro Municipal Assembly and Ghana Shippers Authority for the collaboration and asked for unity among them to expand the faciity in the years ahead. He also urged the management of the facility to ensure proper usage of the facility to keep it in a pristine condition. The Assistant Commissioner and Sector Commander of Elubo Customs, Rev. Joseph Gyan Mensah spoke on behalf of the security agencies and assured the gathering of their readiness to provide adequate security to the facility and any other services that would aid in the effective and efficient operation of the terminal. The facility boosts of a 40 articulator truck parking capacity, 20 seated water closets, 20 washroms, laundry, resting place, mosque and a hostel than accommodate 16 persons.
HON. MCE SUPPORTS SOME PERSONS WITH DISABILTY IN THE JOMORO MUNICIPALITY
A total of 43 Persons Living With Disability (PWDs) in the Jomoro Municipality have received items and financial support from the Municipal Assembly Disability Fund. The items presented included: refrigerators, sewing machines, bags of rice, hair salon equipment and cash amounts ranging from GH₵ 1000.00 – Gh₵ 2000.00 under the auspices of the Department of Social Development of the Jomoro Municipal Assembly. The Municipal Chief Executive, Hon. Louisa Iris Arde, who presented the item,s said it was the government’s top priority to keep extending support to persons living with disabilities to alleviate their predicament. She urged the beneficiaries to take good care of the appliances and make judicious use of the money disbursed to them.
THE MUNICIPAL CHIEF EXECUTIVE FOR JOMORO INSPECTS THE ELUBO BORDER AFTER THE REOPENING OF THE NOE BORDER.
The Republic of Côte D’Ivoire officially reopened the Noe border which had been closed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to growing coronavirus cases, the Noe border was closed on 22 March 2020. Almost three years later, it has reopened to allow movement to and from neighbouring countries. The reopening came into effect on 15 February 2023. On Thursday, February 16, 2023, the Municipal Chief Executive for Jomoro Municipal Assembly, Hon. Louisa Iris Arde led a team from the Assembly to inspect the Elubo border. The Hon. MCE was briefed by the Sector Commander of Ghana Immigration Service, the 2ic of Customs Division of GRA and other security officers. They assured the Hon. Municipal Chief Executive of their adequate preparedness to deal with any threat that would disturb the peace and security of the country. The Hon. Chief Executive thanked them for remaining vigilant during the period of the closure and appealed to them to tighten the security at the various unapproved routes to avert any attack on the citizens and block all illegal activities that would otherwise deny the state revenue. She said Assembly would support them to help discharge their assigned duties. She observed traders crossing to and from the borders to transact businesses and said she was optimistic that the life of the residents would be invigorated since the reopening would boost trading activities and help the Municipal Assembly to generate enough revenue to undertake developmental projects in the area. She used the opportunity to inspect a diseases control centre facility constructed at the border by UNDP, a Wash facility and the GLS Scan site at Elubo.