Civil society groups attend workshop

Nkoranza (B/A), Nov. 11, GNA - The Ghana Union of Traders Association has organised a one-day workshop for about 100 civil society groups in the Nkoranza South District to educate them on their roles and responsibilities in the local government system.

The workshop was under the theme "revenue mobilization for district assemblies, the role of the civil society" and was sponsored by Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung, (KAS) a German political foundation. Mr. Emmanuel Danso, Senior Operations Officer of the District Assemblies Common Fund, appealed to assembly members, traditional rulers and religious leaders to educate the people to pay their taxes so the assembly could generate enough revenue to complete development projects. He expressed concern about the over dependency on the Fund for development and urged the assemblies to find alternative means of generating its own funds to supplement the common fund. Mr Danso said this could be achieved if the district assemblies studied and addressed problems that militated against revenue mobilization and called on them to initiate and execute projects that suited the needs of the people.

Mr. Stephen Agyemang-Badu, a budget analyst from Techiman Municipal Assembly, said successful management of every assembly depended on the preparation of development plan as a guide. Mr. Agyemang-Badu advised assembly members to call regular meetings and educate the people about the assembly concept to get them abreast with activities of the assembly. Mr. Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum, District Chief Executive, commended the organizers for sensitizing the people on the need to participate on the local government system. He appealed to the people not to politicize the development of the district and appealed to revenue collectors to redouble efforts to generate more revenue for the assembly. 11 Nov 09