DCE calls for the abolition of the position of Regional Directors

Kibi (E/R), April 13, GNA - The East Akim District Chief Executive, Mr Emmanuel Victor Asihene, has called for the abolition of the regional directorates for decentralized departments and agencies.

According to him, the existence of the regional directorates through which decentralized departments in the districts report to their national heads amounted to the continued centralization which did not promote effective implementation of the decentralization programme. Mr Asihene was speaking at a day's dialogue session on the promotion of citizen-government engagement for the growth and development of the East Akim District at Kibi on Thursday.

The dialogue was organized by the Ark Foundation, a gender advocate non-governmental organisation and sponsored by the "Right and Voices Initiative", development-based organization.

Mr Asihene called on the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to provide direct funding for further decentralization of the local government system from the District Assembly level to the Area and Town Councils and the Unit Committees level.

He noted that most District Assemblies had no financial resources to effectively support the Town and Area Councils and the Unit Committees to work and provide the needed support to the Assemblies. Mr Asihene held that it was only the further decentralization of the local government system that would reduce corruption in the system, ensure mass participation of the people in the local government system and hasten the development of the country.

Mr Kwame Dwamena-Aboagye, a consultant on local government, called for the consideration of traditional authorities, community-based organizations(CBO), faith-based organizations and the academia in the local government system.

He explained that such bodies constituted essential stakeholders that needed to be consulted in addition to other established local government structures if the people could be mobilized to effectively participate in the local government system and support the development of the communities.

Mr Dwamena-Aboagye asked CBOs to move from their welfare status to the agents of community developers, cautioning that if they failed to develop their communities, they would not have the environment to seek their own welfare.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ark Foundation, Mrs Angela Dwamena-Aboagye, said for the last ten months, the Foundation had selected a group of development-oriented CBOs in the East Akim District to strengthen their capacity to support the development of the area.

She said the training was also to enable them to know the responsibilities of the various political heads in the district and the right approach to development.