An ultra-modern public school facility which boasts of its own water treatment plant and power-generating plant, among other facilities, has been commissioned for the Okpoti School Complex buildings at Dansoman in the Ablekuma West Constituency of the Greater Accra Region.
It also has school library, laboratory and a bus, among others.
The school, which was a collaboration between the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), government, the United States and China, has a kindergarten, primary, junior high school, senior high school and a vocational and technical institute.
The facility is geared towards total transformation of children by equipping them with effective and functional skills to become useful adults and citizens.
The school would provide the students with more access to education and eliminate the shift system in some parts of the region.
Speaking at the commissioning, President John Dramani Mahama advocated the building of synergies and partnerships between government and development partners to achieve the socio-economic development of Ghana.
He said the US and Chinese governments have been instrumental in the provision of infrastructure in Ghana, and the partnership in the construction of the Dansoman edifice was a justification of their commitment to support the country.
He appealed to other Metropolis, Municipal and District Assemblies to take a cue from the activities of the AMA in forging partnership with other organisations to provide educational infrastructure for their localities.
The President advised teachers and students of the school to step up their performance to justify the huge investment that has been made in providing the facility in the area.
Dr Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, said the AMA had cut the sod for the construction of 104 millennium schools in Accra while 10 had been completed.
He commended the US and Chinese governments for their tremendous contribution towards the schools.
He promised to adhere to the tenets of the Better Ghana Agenda that would provide a number of development projects to the region and beyond.
He described the facility as a one-stop compound, stating that the project was made possible by AMA�s commitment to provide quality facilities in the area of education and others to better lives.
Dr Vanderpuije noted that the period where infrastructure was not readily available to accommodate pupils would soon be a thing of the past.
�The AMA resolved in 2010 not only to eliminate the shift system of education at the basic level but also to build what we call Millennium City Schools,� he said.
According to the Accra MCE, the new facility was disability-friendly and has a maintenance programme in place to ensure that the facility is maintained properly.
He promised the public that the facility would not be limited to only Okpoti but would be extended to other communities like Nima, Mamobi, Kotobabi and Ga-Mashie in the future.
Madam Sun Baohong, Chinese Ambassador, said education had always been one of the priority areas for the co-operation between China and Ghana.
"China is currently advancing the construction of the University of Health and Allied Sciences,� she said.
She said China would soon implement the preferential loan project of upgrading polytechnic training, among other support, to Ghana in the educational sector.
Ms Ursula Owusu, Member of Parliament for Ablekuma West, said there is the need for collaboration among Ghanaians in spite of their political persuasions to provide the basic needs and amenities for the people.
She appealed for a polyclinic to cater for the needs of the people as their numbers are growing on daily basis.
Madam Marisol Perez, USAID Director of Education, promised to effect more collaboration with the government to achieve the development agenda.
In a related development, the third meeting of the Global Alliance of Mayors and Leaders from Africa and of African Descent, opened in Accra over the weekend.
The meeting, which is targeted at reinforcing the purpose and pillars underlying the Global Alliance, as well as mobilising support and commitment to the Cali and Cartegna Declaration.
Dr Alfred Oko Vanderpuije stated that the meeting must be used to strategise how best to identify and utilise approaches that will be �game-changers� in the quest for meaningful and sustainable development.
�It is especially important that cities and municipalities play a critical role in charting a workable and enabling future for our people; and our leadership must be strategically oriented towards this end,� he reiterated.
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