The Central Regional Minister, Hon. Ekow Panyin Okyere Eduamoah, has commended the Member of Parliament (MP), for the Mfantseman Constituency, Hon. Ebenezer Prince Kojo Arhin and the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Hon. Eric Stanley Acquah for their efforts towards the development of the municipality.
However, the Minister has urged the two leaders to accelerate the procurement processes for development projects to ensure that funds allocated to the municipality are put to effective use.
Speaking after a presentation on the state of affairs of the Mfantseman Municipality, Hon. Eduamoah Okyere said his assessment of ongoing development activities showed that the MP and MCE were making progress, but more needed to be done to translate available resources into tangible projects for residents.
“We went through the various communities and saw the development there. The MCE and MP are doing very well, but I want to urge them to speed up their activities,” he said.
According to the Minister, delays in procurement appeared to be slowing down the implementation of development projects, despite funds being available to the Assembly.
He noted that the municipality was already in the second quarter of 2026 and expressed concern that portions of the Common Fund allocations had not yet been fully committed to projects.
“It appears that the procurement processes are delaying. We are in the second quarter of 2026, and we expect that the monies that have come from the Common Fund should have been used by now,” Hon. Eduamoah Okyere stated.
He further expressed concern that some of the funds were still sitting in the Assembly’s accounts while the Assembly continued to grapple with projects financed under the 2025 Common Fund allocation.
“It appears nothing has been done with the money. These monies are still sitting in the account while struggling to complete the existing projects from the 2025 Common Fund allocation. This is not healthy,” he added.
The Central Regional Minister stressed that the Assembly must work closely with its technical staff, particularly engineers and procurement officers, to accelerate the implementation of projects without compromising established procedures.
He explained that although the procurement process must be followed to ensure transparency, accountability and value for money, administrative delays should not unnecessarily prevent communities from benefiting from development funds.
“The MCE has to speed up, and this has a lot to do with the staff. We need them to support the engineers because bureaucracy must be considered and ensured,” he said.
Hon. Eduamoah Okyere, however, clarified that his call for speed should not be interpreted as an instruction to bypass procurement regulations.
“I am not saying that we should sidestep the processes. We need value for money, but I think they can speed up to ensure that people get the full benefits of the funds that we have in our accounts,” he stressed.
The Minister’s remarks followed the presentation on the Mfantseman Municipality’s development activities and financial position, during which the Assembly’s use of development resources and ongoing projects came under discussion.
He encouraged the MCE, MP and relevant Assembly officials to strengthen coordination and ensure that approved projects move from the procurement stage to implementation within reasonable timelines.
The call is expected to reinforce the need for effective utilisation of public funds and timely delivery of development projects across communities in the Mfantseman Municipality.
