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The International Labour Organization (ILO) has given 40,000 dollars to the Agona West Municipal Assembly to disburse to the small and medium enterprises. The assembly has also set aside 20,000 Ghana cedis as its counterpart fund to support the financing of private businesses in the municipality. Mr Jacob Felix Obeng-Forson, Agona West Municipal Chief Executive, said this at the first ordinary session of the Assembly at Agona Swedru in the Central Region. He said the assembly had set up a sub-committee on Production and Gainful Employment (PGE) which comprises assembly members, technical staff of the assembly and businessmen and women in the area to speed up the implementation of the programme. Mr Obeng-Forson said the assembly had benefited from infrastructure development at an estimated cost of 200,000 Ghana cedis under the Social Investment Fund and Urban Poverty Reduction Project (SIF/UPRP). He said SIF/UPRP was also assisting the assembly to put up an industrial village for artisans and other businesses and that the assembly had released 6,400 Ghana cedis to pay as compensation to crop owners whose farms had been destroyed as a result of the project. Mr Obeng-Forson expressed appreciation to the Swedruhene, Nana Kobina Botwe II, and other families for releasing 50 acres of land to the assembly to undertake the project. He said a seven-member committee had been set up to look into the contract of Zoom Lion with the assembly to ensure fairness and value for money. Mr Obeng-Forson said the assembly, in conjunction with the traditional authorities, religious bodies and other stakeholders would soon set up an education fund to address bottlenecks in education in the Agona West Municipality. Mr Thomas Kwesi Asante, the Presiding Member, appealed to traditional authorities and assembly members to enforce the bye-laws that ban children under 18 from stay outside after 2000 hours to curb teenage pregnancy. He said the assembly would improve facilities at Swedru Town Hall where the assembly held its meetings to befit its status as a municipality.