Service Contract M'gment & Privatisation workshop opens

Accra March 10, GNA - A three-day workshop on service contract management and privatisation was on Wednesday opened in Accra for Assembly Members, Chief Directors, Engineers, Planning Officers and Leaders of Civil Society Organization drawn from Districts in Southern Ghana.

The workshop has among its objectives the equipping of participants to identify and establish private sector participation in the development of their districts and to understand and appreciate tendering process, as well as prepare tender documents and manage projects based on specific tender documents.

Ms Esther Ofei Aboagye, Acting Director of the Institute of Local Government Studies, welcoming the about 30 participants at the workshop, said by the end of it they should be able to work hand in hand with their district members to achieve an effective service delivery.

She said the workshop would provide an overview of the potentials and implications of the private sector involvement in local government.

"Government alone cannot provide all services perfectly, the private sector is needed. Combining service contract with public and private sector will enhance skills and understanding," she said.

Ms Aboagye said participants would also be able to identify and examine the challenges, benefits and potentials of the various privatisation mechanisms.

She urged the participants to deliberate on how to make service contract management and privatisation practices stronger, more sure and more effective.

Ms Tracey Herbert, Democracy and Governance Officer of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), said contract administration was one of the sensitive areas that had received a lot of outcry from the public.

"It is, therefore, imperative that capacities for district assemblies are upgraded continuously to enable them to manage projects more effectively and improve service delivery generally," she said.

Ms Herbert said USAID had in the last six to seven years supported programmes in some districts to strengthen Ghana's democratic process with an objective of enhancing the opportunities for citizens to make input in the democratic process and be part of the decision-making process.

The course content for the workshop include: Decentralization and Privatisation in Ghana; Quality, Change and Cost Control; Preparation of Bills of Quantities; Monitoring and Evaluation among other topics.