GPRS communication strategy workshop opens in Kumasi

Kumasi, March 16, GNA- A two-day training of trainers workshop on the implementation of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) communication strategy for heads of some selected organisations from all the 10 regions opened in Kumasi on Tuesday.

The workshop, which has the theme: "Sustaining Participation and Ownership Of The GPRS", is aimed at training trainers for the dissemination of the GPRS to sustain participation and ownership of the strategy, especially at the lower levels of administration in the country.

It is organised by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) with technical and financial support from the German Technical Co-operation (GTZ).

The participants were drawn from the Non-Formal Education Division (NFED), National Youth Council (NYC), National Commission on Women and Development (NCWD), Department of Social Welfare, Information Services Department (ISD) and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE).

In his address Dr Sam Afrane, Ashanti Regional Representative of the NDPC, said the government was addressing some of the fundamental obstacles that led to the dismal failure of the earlier poverty reduction interventions and development plans drawn by the previous governments.

He said the GPRS had assumed the centre-stage of the development agenda and comprehensive efforts were being made to mobilise resources both internally and from donor sources for its implementation.

Dr Afrane said participation and ownership had been identified as the surest routes to the attainment of sustainable development and that conscious efforts were being made to enhance and sustain participation and ownership of the people in the implementation of the GPRS.

He urged the participants to take the workshop seriously to enable them to design appropriate communication strategy that would attract their target groups in order to achieve results.

Mr Eric Nortey, Director of Administration, NDPC, said it was when informed structures and co-ordinated feed back were generated on a regular basis that Ghanaians could set their own development agenda. He urged the participants to be committed to the outcome of the workshop to enable them develop regional action plans for development. 16 March 04