By Sebastian R. Freiku
The Prempeh Assembly (Town Hall) in Kumasi, built in 1938 for social events and the theatres, is deteriorating. The building, which accommodates the office of the Presiding Member of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), is seriously leaking, as a result of which the woolen carpets at the high table are soaked whenever it rains.
The hall and the office of the Presiding Member and the restrooms are filled with stagnant water after the rain.
The facility, named after an Ashanti King, first saw a major renovation in 1998, when the then Mayor, Nana Akwasi Agyeman, sunk ¢1.28 billion (GH¢128,000) of KMA funds into it, amid much criticism.
The rehabilitation works involved changing the roof, fixing new ceilings, new electrical systems and rehabilitation of the offices and fence wall, among other things.
But the maintenance of the facility has been relaxed since, leading to the steady deterioration of the place.
When contacted about the situation, Mr. Godwin Okumah Nyame, Public Relations Officer of the KMA, told the paper that the attention of the Maintenance Unit of the Assembly would be drawn to the situation, for the preparation of a budgetary estimate for approval by the General Assembly to rectify the situation