THE government has embarked on an exercise to review the decentralisation programme and the assembly system of local governance.
The Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, stated this in a speech read for him at a consultative meeting of Women’s Rights Activist Organisation and Women District Chief Executives and Women’s Rights Coalitions on Friday in Accra.
The aim of the forum is to provide an opportunity for the women activists to contribute to the review process. It had the theme “Twenty Years of Decentralisation and the Assembly System Local Governance in Ghana”.
“The review process, which will consist of regional forums as well as consultations with special interest groups is intended to provide inputs for a national stakeholder conference, ”he added.
The minister said it was imperative that this review process provides opportunities for various sections of the population, irrespective of their education, gender, location, political affiliation, age, religion or circumstances, to contribute and have their issues taken into account.
“To make democracy a reality by decentralising the administrative and financial machinery of government to the regions and districts and by affording all possible opportunities to the people to participate in decision-making at every level in national life and in government”, he added.
Mr. Chireh said women groups have made efforts to draw attention to gender issues in local governance, raised concerns about women’s low level of participation, the challenges they go through in trying to get elected and the importance of the appointed member mechanism for affirmative action.
“We recognise that women’s groups have made several submissions on current local government arrangements as well as provided proposals and initiatives, such as contained in the Women’s Manifesto and documents emanating from ABANTU’s conferences with assembly women,” he added
The Director of the Institute of Local Government Studies, Dr. Esther Ofei- Aboagye, said the Manifesto for a Better Ghana (2008) outlines the vision and direction of the government of the National Democratic Congress for Ghana.
“Amongst other things, it indicates that the government will organise a broad national stakeholders conference on decentralisation to look at conceptual issues in Ghana’s decentralisation process as well as to review the twenty years of its implementation and make proposals for the way forward”, she added.
The Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, stated this in a speech read for him at a consultative meeting of Women’s Rights Activist Organisation and Women District Chief Executives and Women’s Rights Coalitions on Friday in Accra.
The aim of the forum is to provide an opportunity for the women activists to contribute to the review process. It had the theme “Twenty Years of Decentralisation and the Assembly System Local Governance in Ghana”.
“The review process, which will consist of regional forums as well as consultations with special interest groups is intended to provide inputs for a national stakeholder conference, ”he added.
The minister said it was imperative that this review process provides opportunities for various sections of the population, irrespective of their education, gender, location, political affiliation, age, religion or circumstances, to contribute and have their issues taken into account.
“To make democracy a reality by decentralising the administrative and financial machinery of government to the regions and districts and by affording all possible opportunities to the people to participate in decision-making at every level in national life and in government”, he added.
Mr. Chireh said women groups have made efforts to draw attention to gender issues in local governance, raised concerns about women’s low level of participation, the challenges they go through in trying to get elected and the importance of the appointed member mechanism for affirmative action.
“We recognise that women’s groups have made several submissions on current local government arrangements as well as provided proposals and initiatives, such as contained in the Women’s Manifesto and documents emanating from ABANTU’s conferences with assembly women,” he added
The Director of the Institute of Local Government Studies, Dr. Esther Ofei- Aboagye, said the Manifesto for a Better Ghana (2008) outlines the vision and direction of the government of the National Democratic Congress for Ghana.
“Amongst other things, it indicates that the government will organise a broad national stakeholders conference on decentralisation to look at conceptual issues in Ghana’s decentralisation process as well as to review the twenty years of its implementation and make proposals for the way forward”, she added.
