The Upper East Regional Minister, Alhaji Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, has cautioned officials of the 15 Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) in the region against extortion of monies from contractors.

He claimed there were reports of some MDA officials extorting monies from contractors, and from their colleague staff, particularly those of lower grades, under the pretense of securing them promotions and salary increments.

Minister issued the caution when he paid a working visit to the Kassena-Nankana West District Assembly, at Paga.

Alhaji Dr Salih had so far visited the Builsa North and South, the Kassena-Nankana Municipal Assemblies, and scheduled to visit the remainming 11 MDAs of the region in subsequent weeks.

He said, "The Assembly is a public institution that should be providing social services and the enabling environment for governance."

Alhaji Dr Salih reminded the staff that they were the anchor of the Assembly and must, therefore, conduct themselves with ethical standards as the bedrock for public trust.

He stated that, "As bureaucrats of our local government system at the district level, you are the pacesetters of governance and must be seen as such."

He told the staff that they were the hallmark of their daily activities, and urged them to continuously uphold such cherished values.

Mr Gerard Ataogye, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for the Kassena Nankana West, noted that even though the Assembly block was constructed and use in March 2023, other government departments in the district, including the Health and Agriculture Directorates, Births and Deaths Registry, the Centre for National Culture, among others were still housed in temporary office spaces.