Commonwealth Local Government Forum Opens in Accra

Accra, July 20, GNA - Ghana has succeeded in promoting dialogue and participation of large number of people in decision-making at all levels of governance through decentralization, Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development has stated.

He said the decentralization and local government reform programs had also further influenced people's interest in democratic tenets of freedom= , human rights and accountable governance.

Mr Ofosu-Ampofo made this observation on Wednesday at the launch of a two-day Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) National Dissemination Workshop in Accra.

He said the decentralization process had also combined with democratic local governance to broaden public sector efficiency, transparency and accountability, hence culminated in effective governance and service delivery for the people of this country.

Mr Ofosu-Ampofo noted that government had also deepened the process of decentralization and local government administration to enable the country to improve on existing strengths, eliminate existing weaknesses and also take advantage of opportunities", he added.

He said 93the establishment of the Local Government Service, the pass= age of the Legislative Instrument (L.I) 1961 to pave way for the integration of all decentralised departments, the migration of almost 30,000 personnel fro= m the Civil Service to the Local Government service.

"The L.I 1967 has also been passed to strengthen the structures below the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) had all contributed to the successes".

Mr Ofosu-Ampofo however noted that these developments were complemente= d with the provision of the necessary logistics to the Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs). He expressed government's appreciation to the CLFG for its immense support towards the decentralization, democratization and local governance in the country and the world over. Alhaji Ibrahim Mohammed Sherif, General Secretary, National Associatio= n of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG), said the workshop was to discuss and disseminate good practices on local economic development. He said the workshop, which was the first of its kind would be in series to identify and discuss opportunities and potentials at the local level, as well as focus on sharing best practices.

Participants were drawn from the Adentan, Tema in the Greater Accra Region and Upper Denkyira and Mfantseman districts in the Central Region. Alhaji Sherif noted that the unemployment rate in the country had rise= n and it was important to tackle it from the local levels where there existed better opportunities for people. He said the local economic and skill development project had however been set up to support people at the local levels to reduce poverty and improve their livelihood.