A two-day workshop on preparation of District Medium Term Development Plans and dissemination of 2006 Annual Progress Report on the implementation of Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS)II, for Municipal and District Assemblies in Eastern Region ended at Koforidua on Tuesday. Municipal and District Planning Officers, Co-ordinating Directors and Directors of Health, Education, Food and Agriculture attended the workshop organised by National Development Planning Commission (NDPC). Mr Kwadwo Afram-Asiedu, Eastern Regional Minister, addressing the participants expressed concern about the late arrival of officials from the assemblies to meetings, seminars and workshops. He warned that the Eastern Regional Co-ordinating Council would take action against offenders in future. Mr Afram-Asiedu urged members of Municipal and District Planning Co-ordinating Units to ensure comments submitted by NDPC on their MTDPs were implemented, while the participants showed interest in the 2006 Annual Progress Report being the first report on GPRS II. Dr Isaac Frempong Mensa-Bonsu, an official of NDPC said the workshop was organised to discuss comments and observations made by NDPC on MTDPs submitted by the assemblies to enable them finalise their plans. He advised the assemblies to involve stakeholders in their municipalities and districts in the drawing of their final plans to help build the appropriate level of consensus and ownership required to ensure that the plans were sustained and implemented. Dr Mensa-Bonsu said the report identified some of the weaknesses that hindered achievement of the goals and objectives of GPRS II and made policy recommendations to address the shortcomings. Source: GNA