NORPRA launches campaign for accountable governance

Bolgatanga, Sep 13, GNA - Members of Northern Patriots in Research and Advocacy (NORPRA) have embarked on a campaign dubbed, 93Campaign for Accountable Governance and a Search of leadership for Northern Ghana."

NORPRA is a Civil Society organization that fights for the marginalized and underprivileged, Assembly members and Unit committees, Representatives of Youth and other organized groups.

The members expressed their disappointment at Members of Parliament from the north and said since their assumption of office they had brought nothing to the area.

In a speech read by NORPRA President, Mr Bismark Ayorogo, after several hours of clean up exercise in the Bolgatanga Municipality, called on the constituents of the MPs not to renew their mandate in election 2012.

He said what had necessitated the launch of the programme also dubbed "Operation Get Them Out in 2012 General Election", was the constant failure of the MPs both in the majority and the minority from northern Ghana to champion the cause of northern Ghana and to articulate the concerns of ordinary people, particularly the poor and vulnerable groups in their constituencies.

Mr Ayorogo said there was evidence that the MPs from the north had on several occasions shirked their responsibility and failed in their core mandate to check government's diversion, conversion and misappropriation of public funds meant for the development of northern Ghana.

"The inability of our MPs to demand equitable allocation of national resources to address regional inequalities in Ghana combined with their failure to, in the interest of their constituents, demand transparent and accountable governance at the national level is a major cause of people's perception that they are heartless, selfish, self-centred and of course insensitive to the plight of the very people they rode their backs to power."

He said according to Ministry of Finance Public Expenditure Review in 1997, the National Recurrent and Development Expenditure showed that the three northern regions were much disadvantaged.

While Eastern, Ashanti and Volta regions got 16.7%, 16.7% and 13.6% Northern, Upper West and Upper East regions had 8%, 2.3% and 0.8%.