CEDEP urges social accountability in public institutions

The Centre for the Development of People (CEDEP), an NGO, has launched a project to encourage public institutions to be more transparent and accountable to the citizenry.

Dubbed “Social Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability” (SPEFA), it involves creating the platform for the people to engage the institutions on how government resources are being expended and the benefits to society.

For a start, the project is targeting district assemblies by facilitating periodic interaction between them and the local population at town hall meetings.

Already, representatives of identifiable groups are being trained and sufficiently equipped to effectively engage the assemblies – ask the right and legitimate questions.

Mr. Patrick Amoateng Mensah, the Executive Director of CEDEP, said the communication gap between the institutions and the public would have to be bridged to allow for better understanding and promote good governance.

He was speaking at a training workshop for a working group formed in the Asante-Akim Central Municipality to spearhead the social accountability drive at Odumase.

He said keeping the people adequately informed about the activities of the institutions was the way forward to strengthen and deepen the governance system.

Mr. Samuel Gariba, the SPEFA Project Coordinator, said social accountability is enshrined in the 1992 constitution, hence the need for the citizenry to pursue it.

He said it is within the right of the people to demand social accountability but counseled that this must be done with civility.

Mr. Andy Ghanson, a Deputy Municipal Coordinating Director of the Assembly praised CEDEP for the initiative, which he said, would improve the relationship between the assembly and the public.