‘Lack of responsibilities facilitating stagnation’

Mr Fred Agbobli, a former Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Nungua Office, says the lack of responsibilities in the various structures of the country is facilitating stagnation.

He also noted that decentralisation is not working effectively in the country because of gaps in the structural system of governance.

“The organization of town, urban, zonal and area councils are not in place,” Mr Agbobli stated in Accra on Tuesday at a community durbar organised by the Ablekuma South-West Sub-Metro office of the NCCE to educate Assembly and Unit Committee members on their roles.

He has therefore asked for the missing structures to be put in place as that was the only way decentralisation would be effective in the country.

“There is the need for central government to dissolve powers to the Assembly and Unit Committee members to use in exercising powers effectively especially when they work as liaison officers between the government and citizens,” he said.

Mr Agbobli expressed concern that the Unit Committee and Assembly members were not abreast with their terms of reference.

“Most unit committee members including assembly members are not knowledgeable with their terms of work reference,” he said.

He therefore challenged them especially the Unit Committee members who played a complementary role of government at the base to be trained effectively and skillfully to participate in the good governance of the country.

The former Director urged the Assembly and Unit Committee members to volunteer their time and work hard as that would help build the country.

Mr Stephen Heymann, Officer-In-Charge, Ablekuma South-West Sub-Metro office of the NCCE said the engagement with the Unit Committee and Assembly members aimed at discussing the role of the members as most of the Unit Committee members did not understand their roles to enable them to perform effectively.

He said it was also aimed at educating the public on the decentralisation concept especially the essence of local governance.

Mr Heymann noted that since the introduction of the local government systems in Ghana, culminating in the creation of the district, municipal and metropolitan assemblies, there had been controversies among assembly and unit committee members regarding their roles.

“This state of affairs has to a large extent undermined the objectives of local governance at the grassroots and stunted the growth of community development and progress in the country

“There is therefore the need demystify or explain clearly, the specific roles and functions of these two vital governance bodies in order to help engender cooperation and collaboration and to facilitate progress in development in our communities,” he said.

Mr Heymann called for cooperation and collaborative efforts between the two structures as flaws would eventually break the linkages and objectives of the two, adding that the NCCE was to start education on tolerance as well as the roles of both structures.

Community members were sensitised on how best to keep their surroundings clean.

The day’s event brought together more than 150 participants including various Unit Committee and Assembly members of the area.