Decentralisation policy key to combat coronavirus

Mr Amidu Ibrahim-Tanko, Executive Director of Star Ghana Foundation, has urged the government to revisit its decentralisation policy and ensure its effective implementation for resolving problems efficiently at the grassroots level.

He said decentralisation was very important because it was the surest way for the Government to properly engage the district assemblies in its COVID-19 combat response to achieve maximum results.

Mr Tanko said this in Accra when Star Ghana Foundation engaged the media to disseminate lessons learnt on its COVID-19 response projects, three months after its implementation.

Star Ghana Foundation in April 2020 launched its COVID-19 response project on the theme: ‘The role of Civil Society in the fight against the COVID-19 Pandemic’.

The project, designed to complement efforts by the Government in the prevention and spread of the Coronavirus pandemic, is being funded by the UKAid and the European Union.

Eight Ghanaian Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) including the Media Foundation for West Africa, Caritas Ghana, Christian Health Association of Ghana, and the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations are presently working under the project to increase access to accurate, timely, inclusive and relevant information on COVID-19.

Mr Tanko said lessons learnt during the implementation of the project would be shared with stakeholders, as part of CSOs’ contributions to the combat of the pandemic.

The lessons include the need for uniform systems for citizens to monitor public issues and the effective collaboration between CSOs and citizens to promote accurate and timely information and education.

He urged the Government to collaborate more with CSO’s to address the challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Star Ghana, sponsored mainly by DANIDA, the European Union and UKaid, works with partners towards achieving a well-informed and active Ghanaian citizenry able to contribute to transformational change that advances democracy, accountability and social inclusion.