The Municipal Chief Executive of Ayawaso West, Hon. Dr. Michael Mensah, says the development of the municipality cannot be achieved by the Assembly alone, but requires the collective ideas, expertise, resources and partnership of all who live, work and invest in the area.
Speaking at the Ayawaso West Municipal Assembly’s Stakeholders Forum held under the theme “One Municipality, Shared Responsibility – Mobilizing Stakeholders for Inclusive Development in Ayawaso West”, Dr. Mensah said the forum was deliberately designed to strengthen partnership between the Assembly, residents and the business community.
“Our theme for today’s forum, One Municipality, Shared Responsibility, Mobilizing Stakeholders for Inclusive Development in Ayawaso West, captures a fundamental principle that should guide the development of our municipality,” he said.
“This is an opportunity to listen, engage, and build a stronger partnership between the municipality, our residents and the business community,” he added.
According to the MCE, Ayawaso West is a unique municipality that is home to some of the most vibrant residential communities, commercial establishments, professional institutions and businesses in the Greater Accra Region.
“We have residents with diverse expertise and experience, as well as businesses that contribute significantly to employment, investment, innovation, and economic activity,” he noted.
He however stated that these opportunities come with responsibilities and challenges that must be addressed collectively, including sanitation, drainage, traffic management, security, environmental management, physical development, road infrastructure, waste management and the general quality of life.
“At the same time, we must create an environment in which businesses can operate efficiently, expand their investment and contribute meaningfully to local development,” Dr. Mensah said.
“As a Municipal Assembly, we recognize that the private sector and our residents are not merely beneficiaries of municipal development, they are important partners in delivering it. This is why we have deliberately brought together this group of stakeholders.”
Dr. Mensah said the Assembly wants to hear concerns, expectations and opportunities identified by stakeholders while also sharing its development priorities and exploring practical areas of collaboration.
“For our business community, our objective is to strengthen the relationship between businesses and the municipality. We want to understand what businesses require from the Assembly to operate and grow while also exploring how businesses can support initiatives that improve the municipality,” he explained.
“For our residents, particularly those living in our middle and upper income communities, we recognize that you have important expectations regarding the quality of infrastructure, sanitation, security, environmental cleanliness, traffic management and overall municipal services.”
He stressed that government alone cannot provide all solutions and called for frank discussions focused on solutions and concrete actions.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the Assembly cannot do everything alone, and government cannot be the only source of solutions. There is considerable knowledge, experience, technology, financial capacity, and professional expertise within this room. If we bring these resources together in a structured, constructive way, we can achieve far more than any institution or individual can achieve,” he said.
“I therefore encourage everyone to participate openly in this discussion. Let us move beyond identifying problems and focus equally on solutions, partnerships and concrete actions. Where challenges exist between businesses and Assembly, let us discuss them frankly. Where there are opportunities for collaboration, let us identify them.”
Dr. Mensah expressed the hope that the engagement would end with clear areas of collaboration and practical commitments that would translate into visible improvement across Ayawaso West.
He assured stakeholders of the Assembly’s commitment to regular engagement.
“Let us build a municipality where government and citizens work together, where businesses and Assembly grow together, and where development creates value for everyone. The prosperity of Ayawaso West is a shared responsibility,” he concluded.
By Sampson Kumah Elvis
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