Campaign for MMDAs accountability starts in Volta Region
A campaign aimed at building the interest of the public in knowing the budget processes of Metropolitan, Municipal and Districts Assemblies (MMDAs) has begun in the Volta Region.
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Sponsored by the World Bank, it is being undertaken by the Volta Regional branch of Media Network on Social Accountability in Ho, Hohoe and Keta municipalities in the preliminary stage with budget analysts, planning officers and the Information Services Department (ISD) on hand to educate the public on how the MMDAs worked through radio discussions, community forums and public announcements.
Encourage Citizens
In a press release signed by President of the Volta Region branch, Mrs. Yvonne Harlley-Kanyi, she said that the campaign would encourage citizens to take keen interest in developmental projects by the assemblies and contribute their quota towards their success.
Under the theme, ‘Citizens, know your budget’, the campaign is expected to stimulate about 70 percent of the people in the respective municipal areas to be knowledgeable and get involved in the budget process and implementation.
It is aimed at strengthening the inter-governmental fiscal framework and the local public financial management as well as improve infrastructure and service in the urban assemblies.
Response
The release indicated that the campaign had elicited response from communities and civil society organisations which included a call on Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) to incorporate chiefs and other traditional authorities in the local governance system.
‘With this, chiefs in consultation with other opinion leaders in their communities would formulate their priority development needs for incorporation into the assembly’s budget. This would motivate the citizenry to follow up on their demands,” the release stated.
The release commended the assemblies for showing interest in the campaign and urged them to have continuous engagement with the media to propagate their activities.
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The Network
The media network is a group of journalists who have been trained in public financial management and tasked to monitor the financial activities of the assemblies.
With membership in all regions across the country and support from the World Bank under the Local Government capacity support project, the network would stimulate demand for accountable local governance and service delivery and to generate civil society demand for financial information from urban assemblies.