ActionAid celebrates 25 years in Ghana
The Vice-President, Mr Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, has called on the public to take active interest in the upcoming District Level Elections, as a way of strengthening local governance.
Advertisement
He said the government’s commitment towards empowering district assemblies was to build the capacities and competencies at the level of local governance to enable the people to take charge of their lives and respond to their needs in their own way.
Consequently, he encouraged the public to take interest in the elections as one of the ways of helping to achieve the objective.
Mr Amissah-Arthur said this in a speech read on his behalf at a stakeholders’ forum held in Accra last Tuesday to mark the 25th anniversary of ActionAid Ghana (AAG).
The theme for the occasion was “25 years of fighting poverty together for national development”.
The occasion was also used to launch a five-year programme for ActionAid Ghana dubbed “Country Strategy Paper V”.
NGO’s contribution to development
Mr Amissah-Arthur said the government believed strongly in the role of partnerships and the contribution of international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to the development of the country.
“As a government, we encourage these development partnerships and collaborations,” he stressed.
Other Trending Stories
He said the government and the people of Ghana celebrated ActionAid for staying with the people in the trenches for 25 years, impacting lives, inspiring change and delivering viable services to meet the needs of rural communities.
He gave an assurance that the government would deepen its partnerships with NGOs in empowering the weak and vulnerable, especially women, the youth and persons with disabilities.
ActionAid lauded
For her part, the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, commended ActionAid Ghana for effectively advocating the rights of women, supporting and empowering them to take their positions in society.
She said ActionAid should also be celebrated for its total commitment and hard work in the fight against poverty and the promotion of human rights.
Nana Oye said the ministry was pleased to have been associated with ActionAid Ghana throughout the years, working in close collaboration for the achievement of mutual goals and objectives.
She said the goals of increasing access to quality education particularly for girls, promotion of women’s rights and prevention of violence against women and girls were all common grounds for both the AAG and the Ministry for Gender, Children and Social Protection (MOGCSP).
She listed other common efforts as enhancing food rights and security through direct engagement with smallholder farmers, focus on HIV prevention and building communities’ resilience against conflict.
Nana Oye Lithur said the ministry and AAG had jointly implemented very critical activities, including the historic disbandment of the Bonyasi Witch Camp in the Northern Region and the reintegration of over 55 alleged witches into communities of their choice.
In a welcome address, the Board Chairperson of ActionAid Ghana, Ms Marilyn Aniwa, said as the organisation celebrated 25 years of fighting poverty and injustice in the country, it recognised the support and numerous contributions of its development partners.
She thanked the ministry for supporting AAG’s various community-driven educational programmes.