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The street naming and property-addressing exercise has been launched in the Upper West Region, with a call on all municipal and district assemblies to assist in meeting the President's deadline or face sanctions. According to the outgoing Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Bede Ziedeng, excuses would not be tolerated, since meeting the 18 months deadline was non-negotiable. Mr Ziedeng was speaking at a grand durbar of chiefs and people during the launch of the programme at the forecourt of the Wa Naa's Palace at Wa. The regional minister cautioned that excuses of inadequate funding would not be accepted, and asked the various planning officers and the Town and Country Planning Department of the municipal/district assemblies to lead the process. "The issue of inadequate funding is usually brought to the fore as an impediment to the implementation of the programme. This, in my view, is not an acceptable excuse and I want to warn that sanctions will be applied against any municipal/district chief executive who fails to meet the deadline because it is not negotiable," he said. He pointed out that with the constitution of the District Implementation Committee and the provision of equipment from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, the job should be carried out as swiftly as possible. He commended the Wa Municipal Assembly for blazing the trail, and called on the other district assemblies to follow its footsteps to avoid the pitfalls it went through. Mr Ziedeng asked the various chiefs and opinion leaders to see the project as their own and give it all the necessary support. Launching the programme, the Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum, said the exercise was very necessary in providing easy identification, since the image of the region was being uplifted. "Besides making it easier to identify and locate streets, premises and other structures, it will go a long way to enhance revenue mobilisation, as all ratable properties will be identified and put in the appropriate database," he said. The exercise, he said, would also enhance productivity, since it would help in the generation of funds for development.