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By
Iddi Yire / Benjamin A. Commey, RNG
Accra, March 27, GNA –
Mr. Kwasi Adjei-Boateng, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rurality
Development, paid tribute to the STAR Ghana Foundation for its commitment and tenacity
in building a niche brand and respected in the governance landscape of
Ghana.
"With almost a decade
to work in Ghana, you focused on service delivery,
participation, promotion of gender equity and inclusion of the
Vulnerable in Local Governance Discourse ", Mr. Adjei-Boateng at STAR Ghana
Learning Meeting of Grant Partners for Local Governance in Accra.
"You really worked
contribute to strengthening good governance by transforming lives by providing
a platform and a vehicle for stakeholders to get involved in governance, "he said.
I said.
He congratulated Star
Ghana to support local partners implementing projects in thematic areas
responsible local governance and citizen engagement.
STAR Ghana Foundation
is a mechanism for strengthening civil society focused on accountability
citizens to engage with the state to ensure accountability,
responsive governance at local and national levels.
The general objective
learning was to create a platform for learning and sharing between
actors in the local governance space to the effectiveness of stakeholder initiatives
acts.
Mr. Adjei-Boateng said
the local governance system in Ghana was designed to promote the person centered on
development and governance; and "it is the foundation of the social inclusion of
the people for whom we are initiating interventions to improve their lives. "
He said that it was
It is important to remember that since the beginning of the ongoing decentralization
and the local government process, various efforts have been made to decentralize
functions, powers, skills, competencies and resources of District Assemblies.
He noted that despite
successes in the decentralization process, there was a
many challenges to promote greater citizen participation in local life.
governance process.
He said these
Challenges include the apathy of citizens over issues of local governance, the lack of
basic understanding of the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders,
as well as the lack of innovative strategies for meaningful engagement of
Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDA).
"For example,
the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Executive Directors (MMDCE) remained
appointed by the President, approved by a two-thirds majority of the
badembled and subsequently appointed by the President. "
He said certainly, the
need to change the method of appointing the MMDCE had been identified as a
governance deficit in Ghana's local governance system.
He said allowing
citizens to elect their own leaders in Ghana was long overdue because the
The current method of appointing the MMDCEs had not provided the responsibility that the
people aspired to.
He said for
deepen accountability and bring governance to the people; the government was
take steps to elect MMDCEs; strengthen the substructures of the
bademblies and the role of traditional authorities in local governance.
In regards to
electing the MMDCE on a partisan basis, Adjei-Boateng said that it would be among others
promote local democracy by offering local people the opportunity to choose
their own leaders.
He said that would do
MMDCES are more responsive and directly accountable to their citizens.
He noted that
empowering good governance and transforming lives through popular participation
in local governance was the key to inclusive development.
Dr. Esther Ofei-Aboagye,
The STAR Ghana Foundation, Chair of the Governing Board, stated that these learning activities were
intended to provide space for civil society organizations and their partners
and the opportunity to share their learning, achievements, hopes and fears.
"They are meant to
help us to identify commonalities in practice, to bring together the problems for our society
advocacy and research and our communication agendas. "
Ms. Teiko Sabah,
STAR Ghana Foundation Program Manager said the learning event
all STAR Ghana local governance grant partners to leverage the lessons
learned and share their rich experience after almost a year of
Implementation.
GNA
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