Be involved in planning, budgeting of MMDAs; Civil society, public urged
The Chief of Senchi in the Eastern Region, Nana Offei Aboagye Agyeman II, has advised civil society and the public to participate in the planning and budget processes of the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to entrench decentralisation and ensure transparency at the local level.
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That, he said, was necessary for improving public resource management and reducing corruption by making public servants accountable to the people.
Speaking at a forum organised by Social Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (SPEFA) for residents of the Ledzokuku Krowor Municipality in Accra, Nana Aboagye Agyeman, who is a social accountability advocate, said participation in local governance enjoined citizens to monitor public budgets and policies that affected them.
Forum
The SPEFA forum is an initiative of the ministries of Finance and Local Government and Rural Development and financed with a grant from the World Bank and supervised by the SNV Netherlands, a non-governmental organisation (NGO).
It is aimed at erasing doubts in the minds of the people on how funds are used and bridging the gap between the assembly and the public.
Transparency
For citizen participation to work at the local level, Nana Agyeman said, transparency was needed, as well as the inclusion of residents in decision-making, from groups whose concerns were being addressed.
“Excluding the weak and powerless from decision-making is a cause of poverty because it denies them their rights and creates unequal power relationships,” he said.
He said to ensure the strong participation of citizens at the local level, citizens needed to understand and exercise their right to participate in local issues.
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Additionally, he said, they needed to feel confident and know where and how to participate, while local institutions should be prepared to facilitate citizens’ participation in the governance processes.
Nana Aboagye Agyeman said engaging citizens in local governance improved accountability, while the ability of local authorities to solve problems created more inclusive and cohesive communities and increased the number and quality of initiatives made by communities.
Accountability
In a welcome address, the Chief Executive Officer of Intervention Forum, Ms Nora Ollennu, whose organisation has been spearheading SPEFA, said the forum was the third quarter meeting, on the theme: “Making accountability work at the local level”.
She said it was directed at rendering local government institutions accountable and responsive to the people for whom they were mandated to provide services.
Mrs Ollennu said while the assemblies carried out their functions, citizens also had a decisive role to play in ensuring that the limited resources allocated were judiciously used for intended purposes.
Writer’s email: emelia.ennin@graphic.com