The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) has constructed a culvert to solve the flooding problem in the Yabiw community in the Ahanta West Municipal Assembly (AWMA) of the Western Region as part of its GrEEn Project.
Speaking at a graduation ceremony for beneficiaries of the first batch of Cash for Work (CfW) Scheme under the GrEEn Project, Mr John Agyare, Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of AWMA said that the construction of the culvert was one of the critical interventions provided through the GrEEn Project for the community and the municipality.
He stressed that the purpose of the culvert project will be materialised if the residents will own it and commit to carrying out some basic routine activities such as the removal of vegetative materials that can negatively affect the functionality of the culvert.
He, therefore, urged the residents to sustain the project so that their efforts and that of the partners will not be in vain and also assured the support of the Assembly to ensure that the goal of the project was fully achieved in the area by the end of the project.
He deemed the community as fortunate for receiving the intervention and said it also places a lot of responsibility on members and leaders of the community to demonstrate that the Municipality deserves to be part of the project.
He announced that the initial steps of the project had just been completed with a few more to go with the overall aim of the project being to create employment opportunities for the youth, women and returning migrants in a sustainable or green business environment.
Mr Agyare mentioned that the objective of the Assembly was to see beneficiaries under the project in the very near future with decent employment or managing sustainable businesses.
“I have no doubt that SOS Ghana who provided the training did a good job to put all of you in a position to be able to transition into the ultimate goal of the project. I will like to encourage you to commit yourselves to the rest of the process so that you and your families and indeed the whole of Yabiw can reap the full benefits of this intervention”, he opined.
He noted that right from the beginning of the intervention in the community, leaders and members of the community have been fully involved and extensively consulted on almost everything that concerns the project, an indication that the project “is for the people of the community and not for the MCE, SNV, SOS Ghana, the UNCDF or any other partner in the project.”
Miss Jantuah Berengah, Western Regional Representative for UNCDF commended the beneficiaries for their cooperation during the entire training period and urged them to be good ambassadors of the project while making good use of the skills and knowledge acquired to better their lives and those who depend on them.
She also thanked the Assembly, the chief and leaders of the community for their support without which the project would not have been successful.
Nana Darkonam Chief of Yabiw commended the SOS Ghana, UNCDF and the partners of the project for the various development and human capacity building made in the area.
He further commended the Assembly Member for the Area, Mr Kenneth Obeng for his hard work and appealed to the community members to support his efforts especially, during communal labour.
The Chief also thanked the former MCE Madam Henrietta Eyison through whose efforts they had a CHP Compound and called on the new MCE John Agyare to help with the other things to give the community a facelift.
Madam Georgina Anamil, one of the beneficiaries of the Cash for Work Scheme was grateful to the Chief through which the partners came and the project implementors for the skills imparted to them and promised to use all the skills acquired through the training to achieve the intended purpose.
She pointed out that the training has exposed them to better customer practices, personal courtesies and good grooming practices.
Special awards were presented to deserving beneficiaries who excelled during the training for their commitment and hard work as well as the Chief and the MCE for their immense contribution.
