CSOs embark on development financing campaign

Some members of civil society organisations (CSOs) Coalitions in Ghana who on Tuesday embarked on a poverty reduction and development financing sensitisation campaign returned to the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday to meet the sector minister.

They were however turned back because they had not written officially to the minister.

The campaign dubbed: “Financing our future, Action 2015, “was to draw the attention of government and world leaders on the need to take critical look at the social and environmental consequences of inequality within and between countries.

The members came from NGOs such as Integrated Social Development Education Centre (ISODEC), Global Action for Poverty Reduction and Association of People for Practical Live Education.

They walked from the Accra Sports Stadium to the Ministry of Finance.

At the Finance Ministry, the team waited in vain to meet the Minister.

Mr Bernard Anaba, Policy Analyst at ISODEC, said the aim was to meet the Finance Minister to present a communiqué, which carried the voices of members of CSOs, on issues that bother on financing for development and for which stakeholders who would be attending the Addis Ababa meeting scheduled for July 13 to 16, should deliberate on.

According to Mr Anaba, Africa looses about 50 billion dollars a year through illicit financial flows and called for a change in the development system and measures that would help Africa to address the financial leakages.

He said the campaign was the beginning of many other activities to be undertaken by the group to create awareness among Ghanaians.

Mr Benjamin Lartey of Global Action for Poverty Reduction said they wanted to send the message to the world leaders that development issues should be properly financed, especially in areas such as water, sanitation, schools, hospitals and food security to help reduce poverty.

He said the team would work closely with government and other CSOs “to ensure beneficial re-distribution of the wealth of our time for sustainable development and a better future for all.”