Ghana lacks a Comprehensive Needs Assessment

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• Paul Amuna 12 years ago

  Mercy, thank you for such a detailed piece. I agree with you in principle that needs assessments should form the basis for any intervention at community level and there are useful lessons to,be learned from elsewhere. In Ghan ...
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  Mercy, thank you for such a detailed piece. I agree with you in principle that needs assessments should form the basis for any intervention at community level and there are useful lessons to,be learned from elsewhere. In Ghana, I believe the District Assemblies are tasked with and funded to address local issues. They could do with some of your suggestions and ideas.
  
  However the danger with bank rolling chiefs is that it could seriously politicise what is otherwise a traditional institution and worsen corruption. I believe it was tried in South Africa during the apartheid era and the results were unpleasant. The British colonialists also used that approach and caused a lot of division. A worse example is the role of the Belgians in Buruanda (Burundi and Rwanda) which eventually led to the disintegration of their monarchies and two major genocides over the last 60 years.
  
  My view is, let's identify and work with established local institutions such as you have on the UK where Boroughs and County Councils have key roles to play in locality issues and regional development. I would also add that the regions should be more innovative and identify and partner with cities in development countries for instance, to promote inward investment for their own local development.

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• Conventional Youth. 12 years ago

  • refuse collection and disposal
  • recycling and waste management
  • civic amenity provision
  • gounds maintenance
  • street cleaning
  • cemeteries
  • public conveniences
  • food safety
  • health & safety
  ...
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  • refuse collection and disposal
  • recycling and waste management
  • civic amenity provision
  • gounds maintenance
  • street cleaning
  • cemeteries
  • public conveniences
  • food safety
  • health & safety
  • environmental protection
  • environmental improvement
  • estates management - building design and maintenance
  • building control-inspection and regulation of new buildings
  • dog control
  • enforcement byelaws such as those around litter
  • sports and leisure services
  • sports and recreational facilities
  • parks, open spaces and playgrounds
  • community centres
  • arts, heritage and cultural facilities
  • registration of births, deaths and marriages
  Councils also have a role in the following areas:
  • economic development
  • community development
  • community safety
  • sports development
  • summer schemes
  • tourism
  Councils are currently not responsible for, although they may be consulted on, the following areas:
  • education
  • personal social services
  • roads
  • public housing
  • fire service
  • police service
  • trading standards
  • drainage water
  • sewerage
  • libraries
  • planning
  • street lighting
  • collection of rates
  • transport
  The system also ensures that there is a complaint system running so that services are audited.
  Other council duties:

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• Mr Ghana 12 years ago

  Most of the so called politicians do not have such thought process.. They rely on old school politics. Same ppl have been around since PNDC

  Most of the so called politicians do not have such thought process.. They rely on old school politics. Same ppl have been around since PNDC

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• Conventional Youth. 12 years ago

  Forward thinking Mercy

  Forward thinking Mercy

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• Fany 12 years ago

  Hi Maxine - Thanks for the feedback; and Euro Crime is ienedd a wonderful resource for reviews. Bill / Dana - Re: costs. As I understand it, the Arts Council is far more likely to fund a project that is already up and running ...
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  Hi Maxine - Thanks for the feedback; and Euro Crime is ienedd a wonderful resource for reviews. Bill / Dana - Re: costs. As I understand it, the Arts Council is far more likely to fund a project that is already up and running, and has already proved itself useful to some degree. So I would tend to agree with Dana; start modest, with a blog-style arrangement in which a group of writers contribute an agreed number of posts - i.e., if there are seven writers, it's one a week; 20 writers, once every three weeks. If an individual writer wants to post more often, then that would benefit both her/him and the group in general - I think. Laurence may be right in saying that CAP does a lot of the kind of thing that DSD does, but I should probably say this now: my circumstances are changing to the point where in the very near future I won't be in a position where I can spend time on CAP in the way I have been in the past; the little time I'll be able to afford on online promotion, I'll have to spend on myself. I'd rather that wasn't the case, because I hugely enjoy it, but an hour or so per day spent on this blog works out at roughly 30 hours per month - and I could do a lot of writing in 30 extra hours per month. Needs must, unfortunately. Cheers, Dec

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• mfecyvna 12 years ago

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• mdxtjmtuj 12 years ago

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