MDCEs urged to complete abandoned projects

Municipal and District Chief Executives (MDCEs) in the Brong-Ahafo Region have been urged to facilitate completion of abandoned projects started under previous governments.

Mr Andrew Mensah, Sunyani Municipal Planning Officer, noted with concern that there were a number of projects in the region started by previous governments but they had become stagnant because of the unwillingness of some Chief Executives to complete them.

“This is just because the projects are initiated, and started by their predecessors in other political parties,” he explained.

Mr Mensah was speaking at a Social Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (SPEFA) forum, organized by Mission of Hope Society (MIHOSO), in partnership with the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV), Non-Governmental Organisations in Sunyani.

It was attended by about 120 participants made up of traditional rulers, civil society organizations, youth associations, women’s groups, assembly members, dressmakers and hairdresser, religious organizations and artisans.

Mr Mensah pointed out that without the approval of MMDCEs it would be impossible for Municipal and District Assemblies to release funds to complete such projects.

He explained that though some of these abandoned projects might have been captured in the assembly’s medium term development plan, the Chief Executive had the final authority as to continue with them or not.

On other issues, Mr Mensah called on the MDCEs to ensure that the required logistics and resources needed to prepare the 2014-2017 medium term development plans at the various assemblies in the region were provided.

He expressed concern that many assemblies in the region had not been able to prepare their plans, which ought to capture projects for 2014, because resources were not available.

Mr Mensah said unit committees, area councils and assembly members played key roles in the preparation of medium term development plans.

While advising assembly members to interact regularly with their constituents, he asked local communities to hold them accountable.

Mr Thomas Benarkuu, Project Coordinator of MIHOSO, explained that the five-year SPEFA project was being funded by the Government and the World Bank as part of the Local Government capacity Support Programme (LGCSP) of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.

It is aimed at facilitating economic growth and strengthening the capacity for coordination, and implementation of spatial, physical and development planning at the local level.

The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development launched the LGCSP in 2011, and targeted 46 Metropolitan, Municipal and Districts Assemblies to implement the SPEFA project.

Mr Benarkuu said MIHOSO was implementing the project, which also sought to improve citizen’s engagement with District and Municipal Assemblies in Sunyani and Berekum Municipalities.

The project coordinator explained that two SPEFA committees had been established in the two municipalities to contribute in the decision making processes at the assemblies.