The Nkoranza South District Oversight Committee of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Governing Council, has identified corruption and teenage pregnancy as major challenges militating against the development of the area. Other setups listed are lack of employment and partisan politics, which had cropped into the District Assembly concept. Mr Paul Baffoe-Ansah, Chairman of the committee announced this at a stakeholders’ workshop to validate a draft report prepared on the Service Delivery and the Local Governance System in the district. He expressed regret about the institutionalisation of corruption in the district assembly. Mr Baffoe-Ansah observed that people are made to pay bribes before their needs are addressed by the assembly. The committee chairman said the feedback received from the public indicated that people hesitate to report cases of corruption to the Ghana Police Service because they do not have faith in the personnel as well as fear of reprisals. “Stakeholders of the country need to map out strategies to uproot bribery and corruption to avoid posterity engaging in such negative practices,” he added. Mr Baffoe-Ansah who is also the Secretary of the District branch of Ghana National Association of Teachers, expressed concern about the increasing rate of teenage mothers, which is attributed to child neglect. The draft report also revealed that a number of youth are not engaged in wage employment hence the poor living conditions in the communities. Ms Cornelia Amoah, Public Affairs Officer of the National Africa Peer Review Mechanism (NAPRM)-Governing Council, said the District APRM Governance Project constitute a significant contribution to the citizens’ understanding of good governance practices and also provide a useful self-assessment tool for participating districts. Ms Amoah commended the National Commission for Civic Education and the media for their immense contributions towards the publication of the activities of the APRM-Governing Council. The public affairs officer also paid tribute to the German Development Co-operation, United Nations Development Fund, and Hanns Seidel Foundation for their financial support for programmes and activities of the APRM Governing Council. The Presiding Member, Mr Isaac Asirifi-Kudom expressed gratitude to the District Oversight Committee for its hard work and comprehensive research into the activities and programmes of the assembly. Nana Okofo Agyapong III, Adontehene of Nkoranza Traditional Area who chaired the function stressed the need for Assembly Members to bury their political differences and forge ahead in unity for the development of the communities. Source: GNA