The US$245 million funding for the implementation of the Ghana Secondary Cities Support Project (GSCSP) remains secure and intact, Mr Daniel Kwaku Botwe, the Minister of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development, has assured. The implementation of the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) credit project, which started in 2019, and spans five years, is part of the Government's broader urban development and decentralisation projects in Ghana. It will help to strengthen local systems and provide the needed support to the municipal assemblies for effective urban management and service delivery. He said the participating municipal assemblies of the GSCSP had expanded from the initial 25 to 46, and gave the assurance that the Government would ensure funding for the project was utilized for the intended purpose. Mr Botwe said this when he performed the groundbreaking ceremony in Sunyani for work to begin on the third phase of the Project in the Municipality. The Municipality is, thus, benefiting from a 600-meter storm drain, a 1.40-kilometer Jubilee Park Link road with a U-turn, drains and culvert. The projects are expected to be completed and handed over in August 2024. Mr Botwe emphasised that the Government remained focused, and would not be distracted in its bid to bring the development of the nation to the next level. 'Good governance has made it easier for the government to secure funding for development.' 'We will continue to do our best for the development of Ghana.' He assured that funding was not a problem and that mobilisation could even be provided to some of the contractors who required it to commence work. Madam Justina Owusu-Banahene, the Bono Regional Minister, asked the project executors to engage the locals for the work to create jobs for them and advised the residents to own, cooperate with, and support the contractors to execute quality work. Mr John Ansu Kumi, the Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive, expressed appreciation to the Government for face-lifting and beautifying Sunyani, the Bono Regional capital. Accompanied by Madam Owusu-Banahene, Mr Botwe earlier performed similar ground-breaking ceremonies for the Berekum and Dormaa municipalities of the region for the project to commence.

Source: Ghana News Agency