Newly created districts to be operational next month

Accra, July 23, GNA - Government would next month inaugurate the 28 newly created districts to bring the total number of districts to 138, Mr Kwadwo Adjei-Darko, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, announced on Friday.

"After 15 years of operation, it became evident that a review of the coverage area and jurisdiction, location and size of the authorities was necessary," he said, at a day's meeting with Regional Coordinating Directors (RCDs) in Accra.

Mr Adjei-Darko said the Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs) had been given an oversight, monitoring and harmonizing responsibility of both the new and old districts in order to strengthen their capacities and efficiencies.

He said the RCDs would be the key actors to review activities to operationalise the new districts and plan the way forward with them. The Minister said with the collaboration of the National Service Secretariat, the Government had recruited over 300 persons under the National Volunteers Programme (NVP) to provide the minimum level of trained personnel for the new districts.

Mr Adjei-Darko said the meeting would identify key priorities in human resource development for the Local Government Sector vis-=E0-vis, the establishment of the Local Government Service.

Mr Daniel Nyankamawu, Acting Chief Director of the Ministry, announced that a 60 million-dollar grant from the World Bank would be used to finance a new project dubbed "Community-Based Development Project".

He said this would be under the supervision of the RCDs, adding: "It is just like the Village Infrastructure Project (VIP) but this time with more decentralized mandate to the districts."