Coordinating Directors tasked to ensure sustainable dev’t

Coordinating directors of metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) have been tasked to use their technical expertise to help put to productive use, the resources and potentials of their assemblies.

This is because these resources and potentials constitute larger economic development base of the assemblies and could enhance service delivery and poverty reduction of the citizenry if effectively harnessed and judiciously utilised through policies, programmes and systems,

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Alhaji Collins Dauda gave the advice when he addressed the 3rd Metropolitan, Municipal and District Coordinating Directors (MMDCDs) Conference in Cape Coast.

The two-day conference on the theme: “Effective Leadership for a sustainable local level service delivery, the role of the coordinating Director,” would create the platform for general discussions on matters affecting the administrative structures of the local Government system in the country.

The chief directors and co-ordinating directors from across the country would deliberate on topics such as “Inter-Service and sectorial collaboration and corruption: the key to accelerated development” and “Performance management Instrument: the role of coordinating Directors.”

Other topics are “Ethics in Public Administration”, “Public Sector reforms strategy”, “Human Resource management information: challenges and strategies” and “Fiscal discipline for improved service delivery in MMDAs: the role of the Coordinating Director”.

Alhaji Dauda charged the co-ordinating directors to mobilise and harness the energies and competencies of private partners, non-governmental organizations, community members and other development actors to achieve pre-determined goals and objectives of the assembly.

“A lot is expected of you as administrators and technocrats of the assemblies to inject innovations into the socio –economic development of the assemblies,” he indicated.

The Minister noted that sustainable local level service delivery may flourish better in an enabling institutional environment and this was why the Government had over the years, made frantic efforts to decentralise and reform the administrative structures of the local Government system.

He said co-ordinating directors are the drivers and managers of development at the local level and therefore it is incumbent on them to provide transparent, accountable, visionary and exemplary leadership devoid of political polarization, for effective and sustainable service delivery.

Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur noted that the co-ordinating directors unlike the MMDCEs were appointed based on and therefore could not escape for any administrative failure.

They should therefore pay attention to the sub-district structures that are the heartbeat of the decentralisation process of the country and not to release funds for projects that are not in line with the Government priorities.

He observed that though the street naming project has been successful, some historic names were not maintained and suggested to the MMDCDs to consider maintaining activities that define the history of the country.

Mr Aquinas Tawiah Quansah, Central Regional Minister charged the directors to be more committed and proactive so that their output could impact positively on the development at the local level and the nation in general.

He reminded them of the Performance Contract that they have signed and stated that their performance would be dependent on the effective leadership qualities that they exhibit.

He said they should render services that would be of benefit to the people in their assemblies.