The Abuakwa South Municipal Assembly in the Eastern region of Ghana has held its annual Town Hall Meeting at Kyebi to render accounts to the citizenry.
The program was organized in partnership with Advocates for Community Alternatives (ACA), a non-profit-making organization, as part of efforts to ensure transparency, accountability and deepen local governance.
The Abuakwa South Municipal Chief Executive, Akosua Asabea Annoh, commended ACA for collaborating with the Assembly to execute community-driven projects in some towns in the area and called for the inclusion of more communities to further spread development among the towns.
She gave the assurance that the assembly will continue to partner with ACA to bring development to the doorsteps of the people and further appealed to the NGO to expand its operations to more communities in the area.
The Municipal Planning Officer, Aaron Addo Yirenkyi, made a presentation on the various infrastructural projects and other interventions by the assembly, the central government and other partners like ACA in the past year.
Most of the projects mentioned were in the areas of infrastructural development, economic empowerment, agriculture, health, education, sanitation and support to the physically challenged, among others.
The Municipal Budget Officer, Prince Kwame Agyapong, also explained the various sources of income to the assembly and expenditures made during the period.
ACA’s Project Manager, Godfred Osei Nimako emphasized the importance of community members’ involvement in sustainable development initiatives as it is cost-effective and elicits a deep sense of community ownership and cooperation among the people.
He said the Facilitated Collective Action Process (FCAP) is the main tool being used by ACA to execute projects with its partner local authorities in Ghana.
He said following its successful piloting in seven communities in Bono East and Eastern regions, FCAP is being rolled out in a hundred more communities, with 55 beneficiary communities at various stages of completion of their selected projects.
Mr. Osei Nimako said in addition to Asikam and Ahwenease, 15 more communities in Abuakwa South have been selected to implement FCAP this year.
“I will urge each of us to deeply get involved in the FCAP process at the community level while ACA and the assembly also contribute their part in its implementation”, he emphasised.
The Project Manager was worried about the inability of some community members to meet periodically as required under the FCAP implementation process and called for a renewed commitment by such people for the mutual benefit of all, saying: “There is strength in unity and so if we come together as one people there is a lot we can achieve for ourselves.”
Commentaires récents