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Breman District Assembly on carpet for violating meeting procedures

The Breman Asikuma branch of the Tailors and Dress Makers Association (BATDA) of Ghana, has appealed to the Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District Assembly to include members in the fixing of the assembly's revenue rates.

Date Created : 11/15/2009 12:00:00 AM : Story Author : GNA

The group said for the past two years, the assembly had excluded members in the decision making process in contravention of the Local Government Act.

Mr Alexander Ofosu, Vice President of BATDA who made the appeal through the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra at the weekend, said last year the assembly imposed exorbitant rates on members without due consultation.

Because we were not included in the fee fixing process last year some of our members who could not fulfil the high levy were sent to court.

We were tasked to pay GHC1.50 and GHC 10 as monthly and annual registration respectively. Business is not lucrative in this town (Breman) and sometimes for about one month members have no cloths to sew, he said.

Mr Ofosu said the woes of members were deepened by the payment of electricity and other utility bills.

When the GNA contacted the District Chief Executive, Mrs. Georgina Nkrumah Aboah on the issue she said the assembly was ready to dialogue

with stakeholders in the fixing of revenue rates in future.

She pledged the assemblys willingness to create an enabling environment for Small and Medium Scale Industries (SMEs) in the area to thrive.

The assembly recognise BATDA as partners in development so we will involve them in all decision concerning them.

I am ever ready to help the growth of SME's, because once they are in business, they will be able to fulfil their monthly levy which will improve the

Internally Generated Fund and facilitate improvement of infrastructural in the area, she said.

Mrs Aboah expressed worry that some SMEs do not show up at meetings pushing the assembly to fix the fees without their input.

She said the assembly was developing a mechanism that would enable the SMEs to receive capacity training on management, petty book keeping, financial management, packaging and how to seek for contracts.