Get people actively involved in development - Assembly members tasked

Nkoranza (B/A) Dec 4, GNA - Dr. Francis Appiah, Executive Secretary of the National African Peer Review Mechanism Governing Council (NAPRM - GC) has urged assembly members to encourage the people to actively participate in the implementation of government policies and programmes to enhance the pace of national development.

He was addressing members of Nkoranza South District Assembly at a forum to discuss the draft report prepared by the district's oversight committee on the APRM, at Nkoranza. The report covered the people's perception about Democracy and Good Political Governance, Economic Governance and Management, Corporate Governance and the Socio-Economic Development of the district. Dr Appiah stated that since the assembly members represented the electorate it was incumbent on them to get the people to play their respective roles as stakeholders in the national development process. "It is unfortunate that Ghana has good ideas and policies for development but because we lack their better implementation, we are still under-developed," he said, noting that though countries like South Korea, India and Malaysia were also colonized they had experienced significant development.

The executive secretary said a major challenge that had affected the accelerated development of African countries was poor governance under bad national leadership, adding, power struggles, crises and military interventions had also stalled the development of many African countries. Dr. Appiah called on the people not to allow partisan politics to divide them but forge ahead in unity and contribute effectively towards the effective implementation of government policies towards an improvement in their living standards.

Mr. Paul Baffoe-Ansah, chairman of the district oversight committee, urged the District Assembly to initiate plans for proper waste management in the communities and called on political leadership in the district to interact regularly with the people.

He called on the Assembly Members to critically analyse the report and develop strategies to address the challenges that faced the district for an improvement in the living standards of the people. In a welcoming address, Madam Fati Saaka, deputy district co-ordinating director, commended members of the district APRM oversight committee for their efforts and said the Assembly would study the report and factor the good ideas into its development plans. Mr. Isaac Asirifi-Kodom, Presiding Member of the Assembly, called on the assembly members to collaborate to initiate policies that would enhance the development of the district and to offer dedicated services towards the achievement of its goals. 04 Dec. 09