Ashanti Regional Minister Receives PPE From Middle –Belt Development Authority (MBDA)
Officials from the Middle-Belt Development Authority (MBDA) on Wednesday, 25th day of November, 2020 donated 8, 000 boxes of hand sanitizers and 20, 000 pieces of locally made nose-masks to the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council (ARCC).
At a brief presentation ceremony at the precincts of the ARCC, Vincent Frimpong Manu, Deputy Chief Executive Officer on behalf of the CEO, Joe Danquah appealed to the Regional Minister to distribute the items to those who need same at various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in Ashanti.
He said the Authority was donating at such a time that the COVID-19 disease was still lurking around the corner with the country also recording new infections.
Personal protection as well as a collective one against the viral disease, Mr Manu noted was so important for the country.
‘’We at the Authority believe that COVID-19 was still a threat and therefore we decided to donate these items and by doing so use the same to create awareness to the public knowing that development of the country could only go on when the citizens are healthy’’, Mr Manu posited.
REGIONAL MINISTER:
Receiving the items, Simon Osei-Mensah, Ashanti Regional Minister thanked the MBDA team for the gesture.
He noted that the best way of tackling the COVID-19 disease was to be alert by observing the health protocols including the washing of hands, the wearing of the nose-mask as well as the sanitizing of the hands.
The Ashanti region, the Minister disclosed, had as low as 9 new cases but said for about two weeks now has reported over 40 cases.
This, he noted, required a concerted effort from the public as well as government agencies so that education could be carried out on the need for the citizenry to keep protecting themselves against a possible second wave that is threatening some of the countries that relaxed their protocols on COVID-19.
‘’I pray as a region and the country in general we expend all efforts in sustaining the awareness creation drive about the viral disease so that we can continue to adhere to the preventive protocols aimed at stalling a second wave of infections’’, Mr Mensah noted.
BRIEF:
The Middle-Belt Development Authority exercises its mandate in the Ashanti, Bono, Bono- East, Ahafo and Eastern regions of the country.
The Authority is the main vehicle for spearheading the development of the aforementioned regions.
It was established in 2017 by ACT 962 of the Parliament of Ghana and it is purposely to move the youth into easy employment.
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during the launch of the Governing Board of the Authority in Accra on April, 2017 said he envisaged it to initiate and coordinate affairs from the Ministry of Special Initiatives to fast track the socio-economic transformation of the 5 regions involved.
by Michael Ofosu-Afriyie