Engagement process to enhance social accountability held

   

As part of efforts to strengthen citizen’s accountability processes, a local government capacity builder, Development Research and Advocacy Centre, DRAC has engaged development partners on Local Government Public Financial Management, LGPFM issues . The engagement process which was held in Bolgatanga was to build the knowledge and capacities of Civil Society Organizations, CSOs, Community Based Organizations, and CBOs as well NGOs to effectively demand answers on LGPFM issues from Municipal and District Assemblies, MMDAs and sub district structures. It brought together various interest groups including community leaders, pressure groups, NGOs, CBOs and staff of the Bolgatanga municipal assembly. The event chaired by the Chief of Yorogo, Naba Awuni Johnson, was used to launch the Social and Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (SPEFA) project. SPEFA is a government of Ghana initiative with focus on stimulating demand for accountable local governance and service delivery. The project which targets 46 MMAs over a period of 5 years is being supported by the World Bank with SNV-Ghana, a consultancy firm as its implementing agency under the authorization of the Local Government Ministry. Speaking at the launch of the project, representative of SNV, Emmanuel Tettey, disclosed that SPEFA was a social accountability mechanism necessary to empower CSOs abilities to ensure transparency and accountability of decision making and resource utilization at the assembly level. It is to unravel how monies are mobilize and utilized and also enhance citizen’s involvement in assembly budget processes. He said the Bolgatanga and Bawku Municipalities are among 24 MMAs that have been selected to be part of the project, which he noted, was at its second year of implementation. He expressed optimism that the SPEFA project was going to deepen the country’s decentralization process by empowering the citizenry to hold duty bearers accountable on expenditure processes.  He emphasized the critical role of the media in ensuring accountable governance and urged them to intensify their monitoring role to expose fishy activities by corrupt officials. Participants during an open forum accused the Bolgatanga assembly for harboring information from the public and charged them to expedite action creating a website so that people can have easy access to information on their activities.

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