He said no nation could develop without the sacrifice of its citizens, adding, "Those who are criticising us are not thinking of the development of the county." Mr Barimah said this when he was addressing the Birim South People's Assembly at Akim Oda.

Mr Barimah explained that under the policy, more private companies would be involved in the marketing of petroleum products, making it difficult for one company to arbitrarily increase prices.

He said the National Petroleum Tender Board would also ensure that the companies sell the products at reasonable prices.

The acting Birim South DCE, Mr Yaw Amprofi announced that the assembly had so far received 4.6 billion cedis as HIPC relief fund, which had been used to improve education, health, water supply and sanitation in the area.

The Queen of the Akim Kotoku Traditional Area, Nana Akua Asantewaa III called on the authorities handling the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), to intensify public education on the scheme to encourage more people to join the NHIS.

She also urged opinion leaders and organisations to assist in sensitising the public, especially, the youth on HIV/AIDS.

The people appealed to the government to tackle the problem of high cost of building materials and farming tools.