VOICE-Ghana prepares PWDs for elections

VOICE-GHANA, a disability interest advocacy NGO, has held a training programme, in Ho, to prepare some Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) to successfully contest the upcoming District Assembly Level Elections.

Twelve of the participants are aspiring to be Unit Committee members, while two would like to become assembly members.

Mr. Tenasu Kofi Gbedemah, a Local Government Expert and Board Member of VOICE-GHANA, facilitated the training sessions, which were on the Structure and Function of Local Government, and the Functions and Roles of both Unit Committees and Assembly Members.

He said the Unit Committees, who were to work at the grassroots level, were to assist the District Assemblies to bring governance to the doorsteps of the people.

Mr. Gbedemah said they also offered assistance to the Urban or Town Councils in the collection of revenue and the facilitation of the registration of births and deaths in the Units.

The Unit Committee, he said, should be a central point for the discussion of local problems.

He also explained the functions of District Assemblies, Sub-District Political and Administrative Structures, Urban and Zonal Councils, Town and Area Councils and Committees of District Assemblies to the aspirants.

Mr. Francis Asong, Director of VOICE GHANA, said the training was a strategy to increase the confidence and understanding of the participants on the systems they intended to work with and to raise their profiles and statuses.

Mr. Asong said the training formed part of a year-long project VOICE-Ghana was implementing with support from STAR-Ghana and partners - UKaid, EU, DANIDA and USAID.

He said the project, which started in January, was to strengthen the capacity of marginalized persons with disabilities and facilitate their participation and representation in local governance and electoral processes in the Agortime-Ziope and Adaklu districts of the Volta Region.

Mr. Charles Nyante, the Programme Coordinator of VOICE-GHANA, encouraged the potential aspirants to take the training seriously and assured them that VOICE GHANA would support them to complete and submit their nomination forms once EC opened nominations for the elections.

The elections are expected to be held before the year ends.