Ahumah says decentralization should be deepened

Hohoe, Sept 21, GNA - Mr Patrice Ahumah, the Executive Director of All-Age Development Centre (ADEC), on Wednesday called on the government to deepen decentralization at the grassroots to give meaning to democracy, rapid development and wealth creation.

He said strengthening the local government structures, principally the sub-structures, would stimulate independence and the transfer of absolute power and authority to the district assemblies. Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Ahumah urged the government to empower the district assemblies with the requisite resources and logistics for total development of the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies.

He said Uganda studied Ghana's decentralization concept and is successfully replicating it without interference from the government. "Their system is devoid of central government dependence and the inter-positioning from the Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs)." Mr Ahumah said if the concept should break new grounds then all stakeholders must play their roles efficiently in decision-making and implementation of the tenets inherent in the decentralization document. He said it had all the legislation needed to make it the real gateway to the west and entire Africa but the lassez-faiz attitude to change and work ethic was what was affecting the growth of the economy and called for an attitudinal change.

"No wonder the unit, town and urban councils are dysfunctional and need to be revived to boost the decentralization concept", Mr Ahumah said