9,621 Members of MMDAs undergo nationwide training

The Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS) has rolled out a nationwide training programme to build the capacity of all 9,621 members of metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) across the country.

Participants in the programme, which started in 22 centres across the country on September 24, are made up of 6,272 elected assembly members, 2,813 appointed members, 261 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) and 275 members of Parliament (MP).

The IGLS is spearheading the initiative at the instance of the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development (MLGDRD) in collaboration with the Office of the Administrator of the District Assembly Common Fund, the Office of the Head of Local Government Studies (OHLGS), the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG), with funding support from the Swiss government.

At the launch of the closing session of one of the training programmes in Accra last Friday (October 11), the Chairman of the ILGS Council, Emeritus Prof. Kwasi Kwafo Adarkwa, said more than 4,500 beneficiaries had been taken through modules designed to provide the competencies they required to perform their responsibilities efficiently.

He said the focus areas for the training programme included the decentralisation policy, roles and responsibilities of assembly members, expectation of residence from assembly members, the administrative laws of the assemblies, the standing orders for the MMDAs, and the conduct of assembly members during proceedings.

The Minister of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah, said processes were advanced to convert the ILGS into a fully fledged university as a long-term measure to produce quality human resource to boost the country’s decentralisation system.

He said following the President’s approval for the establishment of the University of Local Government and Development, a bill was currently at the consideration stage in Parliament to make it a reality.

"I have been leading the process as the minister for the sector, substitute into a fully fledged university called the University of Local Government and Development. We are in Parliament with the processes and we are just left to take off with the consideration stage after which the bill will be passed into law," he said. 

Mr Korsah said when Parliament reconvened next week, the bill would be one of the items on the agenda. "We hope that before the house rises, that process would have been completed for the University to take off," he said. 

He added that in terms of infrastructure, the current structures at the ILGS was adequate to start with while further investments were made subsequently. 

Touching on the significance of the university, he said the conversion was important because it was going to be an institution of specialised higher learning and that body that would produce all the human resource needs within our local government set up. 

"It will also enhance the capacity and skills development within the sector," he said. 

The minister said because of the crucial role assemblies members played in mobilisation for development at the community level, there was a proposal by the government to set up Electoral Area Fund, akin to the MPs Common Fund. 

He said, such a fund would support assembly members to perform their responsibilities.

The Ambassador of Switzerland in Ghana, Simone Petra Giger, commended the government for initiating steps to transform the ILGS into a specialised public university in governance and development. 

She said the initiative was a critical move towards building the human resource needed for enhanced decentralisation and development in the country.

Again, she said the conversion of the Institute into a university would pave the way for investment in infrastructure and other systems that would help to enhance local governance.

Ms Giger said investment in human capital was essential for the sustainable development of any country, for which reason efforts must be made to build the capacity of key actors in the local government space.

She said the Swiss government was committed to supporting the government and other state institutions to build the needed infrastructure needed for enhancing local governance.