Citizens participation in governance crucial to fight against corruption

The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Local Chapter of Transparency International, has said the active participation of citizens in governance is crucial to winning the fight against corruption.

According to GII, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives would be put on their toes if the citizens demand information from them on projects and how financial resources allocated to the Assemblies were utilized.

The Programmes Manager at GII, Mrs Mary Awelana Addah, said these at a stakeholders’ forum dubbed, “Increasing citizens’ power to demand accountability from duty bearers,” in Accra, yesterday.

It was organized by the GII, in collaboration with the Ghana Developing Communities Association (GDCA), to equip participants with skills in reducing corruption, to promoting good governance.

The event brought together representatives from Civil Society Organizations, Assembly Members, Persons with Disabilities and youth groups.

The forum was organized with funding from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), through the Empowerment for Life (E4L) Programme of the GDCA.

Mrs Addah encouraged individuals to report any act of corruption to the appropriate institutions for immediate action, to promote social accountability and development.

Mr Philip Gmabi, Technical Advisor at GDCA, recommended that Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) step up efforts on citizens’ participation in Fee Fixing resolution meetings.

“There should be adequate dissemination of the fee fixing resolutions and the MMDAs need to use the local language to sensitize community members on the fee fixing resolutions,” he added.

Mr Gmabi asked MMDAs to make available information on projects being executed to the people.

The Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency, Dr Eric Oduro Osae, in a statement read on his behalf, said his outfit would ensure the establishment of a Public Financial Management league table, to ensure the MMDAs were implementing policies effectively.