Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies have been called upon to find innovative ways of generating substantial revenue to supplement their budget instead of relying on donor organizations. Mr. Kwabena Adjei-Mensah, Director of Budget at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, made the call at one-day workshop aimed at bringing together policy makers and its implementers in Sunyani. He said foreign financial assistance to supplement government budget was not enough to meet the developmental targets of the country. The workshop, the first of its kind is being organized by the (MOFEP) throughout the country for budget officers from all the 19 districts in the region. Mr. Adjei-Mensah explained that the 2007 budget contained new policy initiatives, which must be explained to the implementers "since such initiatives have financial implications." He said the Government Poverty Reduction Strategy II was to ensure accelerated growth of the economy through continued macroeconomic stability, vibrant private sector and vigorous development. The Budget Director disclosed that the debt stock of the country stood at 4,670.59 million dollars as at September 2006 as against 8,382.5 million dollars the previous year. Mr. Akubour Debrah, Minister of Food and Agriculture, noted that the workshop was very essential since most of the policy implementers lacked knowledge about the budget inputs. He urged the participants to take the workshop seriously and to impart the knowledge they would acquire to their Assemblies for a positive change at their workplaces. Source: GNA