The political settings at the local level in Ghana leaves much room for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executive (MMDCEs) to evade conversations on accountability, according to the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CCD-Ghana).

Mr Paul Osei-Kuffour, Programmes Manager of CDD-Ghana, who made the observation, said the current arrangement did not favour the ordinary citizen as the MMDCEs always found a way to avoid accounting to the people.

“When you want to really demand accountability or create a space that will bring the MMDCEs to the centre or to the fore to be able to engage them on a continuous basis, they find alternatives to run from that kind of conversation,” he said during a two-day media workshop in Accra.

The workshop, which was attended by selected journalist from six regions, formed part of the “I Am Aware” (IAA) Project being implemented by CDD-Ghana with funding from the Hewlett Foundation.

“Strengthening Civic Participation at the Local Level: The Role of the Media in Improving the Civic Space and Fostering Civic Engagement at the District Level,” was the theme chosen for workshop.

The IAA initiative seeks to strengthen citizens’ participation and promote accountable governance for improved social service delivery across 20 districts in Ghana through informed and active citizen action.

The goal of the workshop was, therefore, to support a broad spectrum of journalists working with both electronic and print media to identify ways to strengthen the participation of civil society and citizens to influence government decision-making processes at the district level.

Mr Osei-Kuffour said lack of accountability at the local level informed the decision of CDD-Ghana to champion some reforms at the local level, especially the election of MMDCEs.

He said the level of engagement between Members of Parliament (MPs) and their constituents was much better because they were elected and would require the mandate of the people to retain their positions.

“Look at the role of the MPs and their affinity with the community and citizens. Because they are elected, every four years they need to come back to the citizens to renew their mandate so they cannot afford to stay at a distance without engaging the people,” he submitted.

He said the incentive for the MPs to continuously engage the people was the power of election, a reason CDD-Ghana was running a campaign to get MMDCEs elected.

The major constraint, he noted, was whether to do it partisan or non-partisan, but was convinced that doing it either way would still be beneficial because they would guarantee accountability.

He charged the participants to amplify the conversation to open up the civic space to create much more incentives to engage actively as actors within the space.

He said it was interesting how most Assemblies often scored high marks in the Functional and Organisational Assessment Tool (FOAT) which required regular engagements with the citizenry yet the situation on the ground was completely different.

Mr. Mohammed Awal, Team Lead for Social Accountability, CDD Ghana, said the media was not only actors in the civic space but also enablers and charged the participants to step up their game to give voice to citizens in their localities.

He said the media had a role to play by leading the conversation on accountability by providing the platform for citizens to participate in the civic space to ensure inclusive development.

He gave the assurance that CCD-Ghana would continue to work with the media to improve local governance to give true meaning to the decentralisation concept, which sought to bring governance closer to the people.

The Western Regional Coordinating Council (WRCC) is adopting innovative methods to address the pressing sanitation issues in the region. 

Subsequently, an electronic application dubbed, ‘e-tankas’ has been developed and is being piloted in three districts to manage and report waste nuisances in the districts. 

The three districts are Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipality (EKMA), Shama District and the Wassa East District Assembly (WEDA). 

The e-tankas application was initiated under the leadership of the Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, to digitize the operations of the Environmental Health Departments in the fourteen MMDAs of the Region. 

The idea was to transform the work of the environmental health workers from the manual way of managing and reporting waste nuisance in society into the electronic platform.  

This came to light during a short briefing on the e-tankas application to Management members of the Environmental Health Departments in each of the three Assemblies.  

After the briefing, field officers undertook pilot exercises to appreciate how the system aligned with their traditional ways of administering their operations on the field. 

In the pilot exercise, the team accosted several the community members who were in the process of violating the rules already. 

The field officers used the application to capture some of them and warned them to desist from those acts since the main implementation of the programme would not spare them when they were caught. 

In the Shama districts, a young lady in her twenties was seen engaging in open defecation at Aboadze during the pilot exercise. 

While at the Wassa East District, one of the communities was seen very dirty with their waste dustbin site left unattended to while the whole community left notoriously difficult. 

The system was used to capture the offenders by one of the field officers where the offender was cautioned to desist from such acts since they would be prosecuted in the coming days when the systems got to the final stage of implementation. 

A household in Effiakuma No.9 in the EKMA was seen in a very untidy manner which the system would have facilitated their arrest and prosecution. 

This mobile application, which is essential for public education and enforcement of sanitation bye laws by community members and Environmental Health Officers, is the first of its kind in the Region. 

The objective was to improve environmental sanitation service delivery in the region.  

Over eighty market executives have been trained as paralegals by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection since the introduction of the concept of paralegals in Ghana.  

The market executives were empowered with basic knowledge in the country’s legal frameworks to educate the public on Domestic and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and to respond better and assist survivors at the markets and communities.   

Mrs Zuweira Lariba Abudu, Minster Designate, Gender Ministry, said this at an awards ceremony as part of activities to mark the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.  

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, an annual international campaign begins on 25th November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) and runs until 10th December (Human Rights Day) to fight violence against women and girls.  

The theme for this year’s campaign is : “ Unite! Activism to End Violence against Women and Girls.”  

The awards ceremony was to recognise and honour individuals and organisations that help in the fight against  domestic violence in the country.  

Fifteen individuals and organisations from the Northern, Upper West and East, North East, Oti, Savanna, Bono and Bono East, Ahafo, Ashanti, Central, Western, Volta, Eastern and Greater Accra Regions were presented with plagues and table top fridges.  

Mrs Abudu noted that the lack of empowering communities to speak and act appropriately against the various abuses that affected women and girls caused the continuous rise in the menace.  

She said :“As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure and so, it is important for communities to prevent the abuses before they escalate.”  

The Minister Designate noted that GBV acts including Intimate Partner Violence, Female Genital Mutilation, harmful widowhood rites, child and forced marriages with deep cultural and religious roots, affected all countries.  

Hence, the Ministry was reviewing its Legal Frameworks such as the Domestic Violence Act and its Legislative Instrument, the National Domestic Violence Policy and the National Gender Policy amongst others to respond better to the abuses.  

“Government will not relent in its efforts to provide empowerment opportunities for women and girls as well support all structures working in the areas of prevention, prosecution and rehabilitation of survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.” 

Mr Charles Abani, United Nations Resident Coordinator, re-emphasised  the need for the Affirmative Action  Bill which had been on the table for ten years  to be passed. “How will we get this bill passed unless we have more women in parliament in the process,” he stated.  

The Bill aims to ensure the achievement of gender equality in political, social, economic and educational status, which is vital to ensuring gender parity, reduction in GBV and reductions in overall poverty levels for Ghana to be self reliance. 

Mr Abani called for a whole community approach to eliminate discrimination and GBV, raising awareness on the situation, uphold international and national commitments, and to conduct advocacy on the protection of rights and empowerment.  

He commended the Government and the Ministry for their commitments and continuous efforts towards highlighting the issues as they stood and fought against. 

Madam Harriet Thompson, British High Commissioner in a speech read on her behalf by Madam Enyonam Hazumah, Team Lead, Human Resource, British High Commission said, violence was preventable.  

Hence, she called for the implementation  of legislations that protected women and girls in Ghana.  

Madam Thompson said the country could be proud of its achievement on women’s rights and the reduction of gender-based violence.  

Forty-three youth who received apprenticeship training from the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation (GFGF), have been presented with start-up kits to begin their own business.

The beneficiaries received four-year training in trades like welding, auto electricals, auto mechanical, spraying, dressmaking, and hairdressing.

In addition, a four-day training programme on entrepreneurship was organized for the beneficiaries to equip them with entrepreneurship and business management knowledge to run their business successfully.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony at Akoon, Dr Celestina Allotey, Vice President and Head of Sustainable Development, Gold Fields West Africa, explained that the beneficiaries were made up of 17 males and 26 females representing 60 per cent.

She said “it was worthy to note that all the seven ladies who got pregnant during the period did not drop out but continued with the training after giving birth”.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4, 5 and 8 highlight the importance of technical and vocational training for employment and sustainable development as well as gender equality and empowerment, Dr Allotey added.

She hinted that before the apprenticeship programme started, community leaders and trade association executives were engaged to solicit their views and support.

“To ensure the effectiveness of the training programme, there was constant monitoring of apprentice activities throughout the period. Apprentices were visited at their various workplace to supervise their activities and assess their performance” The Vice President further said.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), of the Design and Technology Institute, Ms Constance Swaniker, urged the beneficiaries to work on their attitude and have a disciplined mindset, adding, “60 per cent of your success would depend on your attitude”.

She continued “the current industry requires a new skill sets and standards so work on these areas. Do not be limited, think of working in Ghana and outside the country. The GFGF programme is a great initiative and l would encourage other mining companies to emulate”.

Mr Benjamin Kessie, Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Tarkwa-Nsuaem, praised GFGF for initiating such a programme, and expressed the hope that they would continue to assist the youth in their host communities to be economically independent.

The queen mother of Apinto Divisional Council, Nana Abena Boaduwaa II, advised the youth in the Mines host communities to embrace programmes introduced by the GFGF to better their fortunes and contribute their quota to national level.

Mr Michael Nkansah, a beneficiary, on behalf of his colleagues, presented citation to GFGF and thanked them for creating more sustainable jobs for the youth in its host communities.

The programme was officially used to open the two-year Mine apprenticeship training in welding and fabrication for thirty youth for both Gold Fields Ghana Limited (GFGL) Damang and Tarkwa Mines host communities.