Denkyembour District Assembly Holds District Planning Co-ordinating Unit Meeting
Posted by Elvis Offei-Bekoe - 15th November 2023
On Wednesday 15th November 2023, the District Planning Co-ordinating Unit (DPCU) of the Denkyembour District Assembly held a meeting to discuss the guidelines for the preparation of 2023 Annual Progress Report. The new guidelines for the preparation of 2023 APR was a requirement from the National Development Planning Committee (NDPC).
The chairman for the committee; Alhaji Shamrock Abdulai Gafaru welcomed all members to the meeting and mentioned that the DPCU was the engine of the assembly and that meeting of the DPCU was of utmost importance to the assembly. He also urged members to pay rapt to the new APR guidelines.
The District Planning Officer; Mr Mohammed Baba Abdulai took members through the guidelines. He mentioned that, the new guideline was the improvement over the reporting template for 2022 Annual Progress Report. He then mentioned that there were six main thematic development dimensions for the new reporting guidelines which included Emergency Planning and Response. He also added that the 2023 APR would be measured as an overall proportion of the 2022-2025 Medium Term Development Plan.
The APR also has a part for reporting the statuses of all projects within the district which would include pictures of the projects at each stage of completion. The reporting of programs would now also include beneficiaries of the executed program as part of the report. He also added that departments and institutions would be required to do an analysis of programs and projects and the funding sources.
He lastly added that the report stressed on emergency reporting where there should be breakdown of emergency cases and the respective plans to resolve those emergencies when they occur. The report also features sections where districts are supposed to report on Climate Change Adaptations, Integrated Social Services and UNICEF programs if any. He then urged Heads of Departments to begin working on their APRs and present to the District Development Planning Officer.
In other matters, the District Health Director; Mr Daniel Derby briefed the committee about an upcoming National Diabetes Day Celebration which would be commemorated on Tuesday 21st November 2023. He mentioned that there would be free screening of BP, Blood Sugar and Body Mass Index for all participants. The celebration would be held at the forecourt of the District Health Directorate.
The District Manager for Electricity Company of Ghana also briefed the house on the new billing system. He mentioned that the institution will soon be embarking on a district-wide sensitization program on the new billing system. He lastly added there is a feature on the ECG Power App that could aid in regularizing the bill.
The chairman for the committee in his closing remarks informed the district planning officer that he should give out dates of meeting and submission of APR on time to prevent any delay the submission of the report. He then wished all members well and expressed his gratitude to all members for taking time to attend the meeting.