Workshop on local governance underway

Amasaman (GA), Sept. 9, GNA - A two-day workshop on Local Government for over 50 participants, including assemblymembers, departmental heads and civil society is underway at Amasaman in the Ga District.

The workshop, which is under the auspices of the Ga District Assembly and Action-Aid Ghana would discuss studies on local governance in the district and the way forward.

Opening it, Mr Samuel Nii Aryeetey Attoh, Ga District Chief Executive (DCE) said the NPP government is committed in deepening grassroots participation in the decision making process and to reduce poverty among the under-privileged and the rural people. He said over the past fourteen years, much success have been chalked in the broad objectives of administrative authority but much still remained to be done to improve the system and make it more efficient and effective.

Mr Nii Aryeetey Attoh said the district assemblies are still faced with problems such as inadequate revenue mobilisation and institutional logistics, delay to implement assembly decisions, failure by developers to abide by physical development regulations, ineffective institutional policies and financial malfeasance.

"As key implementers of the system, the district assembly has the herculean task of providing and meeting diverse developmental needs and aspirations of the local communities."

He therefore, appealed to the participants to take the workshop, which would expose them to issues which are often overlooked but impinge adversely on the district assemblies performance, seriously.

This, he said, would enable them to gain an insight into some of the outstanding problems to enable them take corrective measures.

Mr Nortey Yeboah, Presiding Member of the Ga District Assembly, who chaired the function urged the participants to impart whatever they would learn at the workshop to the people in their communities.