The Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) has called for operational budgets for unit committees and area councils to revitalise grassroots governance and revenue mobilisation across Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).

The Programs Manager and Team Lead for Security Sector, Local and Urban Governance at CDD-Ghana, Paul Kwabena Aborampah Mensah, explained that empowering unit committees and area councils with adequate resources would enable them to support effective revenue mobilisation at the grassroots level.

Engagement

He made the call at a stakeholder engagement on resetting Ghana’s local governance system for enhanced effectiveness in Tamale.

The engagement was organised by CDD-Ghana with support from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) as part of efforts to generate knowledge to inform ongoing local government reform discussions and implementation.

It brought together policymakers, civil society organisations, technical experts and the media to deliberate on reforms to improve the effectiveness of Ghana’s local governance system.

Local governance structures

Mr Mensah said integrating local governance structures more effectively into the assembly system would significantly improve Internally Generated Funds (IGF).

He stressed that mandatory training for members of the structures would improve their understanding of their roles, enhance accountability and deepen citizen participation in local governance processes.

Mr Mensah noted that current levels of Internally Generated Funds (IGF) were insufficient to support meaningful development within many MMDAs.

Commendation

A Governance Advisor at the British High Commission, Clara Osei-Boateng, commended CDD-Ghana for the engagement, noting that it would help shape the policy direction on local governance reforms.

She said strengthening Ghana’s democratic governance remained a key priority for the UK, adding that Ghana was a focus country in that country’s governance support agenda.

She, therefore, encouraged civil society organisations to continue engaging actively in reform processes to advance effective and inclusive local governance in the country.

Source: Graphic Online