NGO helps district assembly towards participatory government

Paga (U/E) Sept. 20, GNA - A workshop aimed at guiding district assemblies to involve stakeholders in policy planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation has been organised at Paga in the Upper East Region.

The stakeholders were drawn from government, civil society organizations, non- governmental organizations (NGOs), the private sector and the under privileged in decision-making, such as children, people with disabilities among others. The programme also aims at helping district assemblies to improve on the planning and budgeting cycle at the community level to facilitate poverty reduction programmes in the region. It is also to provide principles and guidelines for community level planning and the integration of gender equity concerns in planning and budgeting.

The participants were taken through Budget Processing and the Importance of Budgeting and other topics. Organized by the Movement of Collective Associations (MOCASS), an NGO, with support from IBIS West Africa, it brought together 61 participants including unit committee members, assembly members and organized groups. Participants are expecte d to be equipped to ensure the efficient use of local resources, facilitate revenue generation and ensure the efficient monitoring of the impact of policies and programmes for the betterment of the people in the area.

The coordinator of MOCASS, Mr. Braimah Sanjage, said budgeting helps to track performance, serve as a guide to implement projects as well as helps to identify revenue areas for projects implementation. Mr. Braimah said the way forward to better governance was to participate effectively in budgeting at the district level, which should involve everyone in the community and called for participatory planning at the district level, data collection and preparation of community action plans, harmonization of area council plans and the integration of area council plans into district plans.

Mr. Pwoawuvi Joseph Weguri, a resource person, told the participants that partnership in planning should ensure that plans reflect in communities and departments' needs. Mr. Weguri indicated that effective policy planning could not be implemented without financial support and urged the district budget officers to adopt sound financial practices to ensure quality and quantitative changes in the living conditions of the people they served.