He said they must be focused as they discharged their duties creditably.

That called for hard work and effective supervision to move the communities and the region's development forward, he added.

He was speaking at a meeting with the staff of the Abura Asebu Kwamankese (AAK) District Assembly as part of his tour of the region.

He noted that it was important to have clear development goals and harness all resources, both human and material, to achieve those goals.

"You are chauffeured around and the doors to your cars are opened for you. You are called "honourable". The honourable title comes with responsibilities and you cannot but live up to that responsibility," he stated.

He said his administration would particularly look to significantly improve on sanitation, education at the junior high school level and promote economic development.

Mr Duncan noted that the district assemblies were the seats of authority in the districts and charged them to make bold decisions that would transform the districts.

Judicious resource use

Mr Duncan further charged the assemblies to ensure the judicious use of the assemblies’ resources to better the lot of the people in their communities.

Touching on work habits, Mr Duncan asked the assembly staff to desist from negative work habits such as lateness, absenteeism and loitering.

He said as public servants, they had to ensure that they efficiently served the people whose taxes were used to pay them.

‘The Ghana Project’

Mr Duncan said all had the responsibility to help build a prosperous Ghana and advised them to work harder to make what he called the "Ghana project" successful.

"We have a country to build and you must think beyond collecting your salaries at the end of the month," he told the staff.

 The regional minister said the success or failure of the assemblies would not only be placed at the doorstep of  politicians but the assembly as well, and urged the MMDCEs to do better.

The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Abura Asebu Kwamankese (AAK),  Ms Felicity Aba Hagan, pledged to work to promote the well-being of the people in the area.

She said although the district had very limited internally generated funds, it was committed to increasing the fund to support accelerated development.