RCC to supervise donor funded projects

Mr Daniel Syme, Deputy Minister, Upper East Region, has assured Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) that the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) would ensure an efficient supervision and monitoring of all donor-funded projects meant to develop the area.

He gave the assurance, on Wednesday, when some CSOs, led by the Northern Patriots and Research in Advocacy (NORPRA), visited the RCC to know the extent of the implementation of a STAR-Ghana funded projects being implemented in the region.

Strengthening Transparency Accountability and Responsiveness-Ghana, according to its official website, is a multi-donor pooled funding programme (funded by DFID, DANIDA, USAID and EU) to increase the influence of civil society and Parliament in the governance of public goods and service delivery, with the ultimate goal of improving the accountability and responsiveness of Ghana’s government, traditional authorities and the private sector

Mr Syme said one cardinal role of the RCC was to monitor, supervise, and evaluate the proper implementation of developmental projects, including the donor funded ones.

He explained that the RCC lobbied for the STAR-Ghana project and would not leave any stone unturned to ensure that it was successfully implemented to help improve upon the livelihoods of the people.

“The leadership of the Region, over the years, has been lobbying to ensure that development partners support the growth of the Region, which is one of the deprived areas in the country,” he stated.

However, the CSOs in their submission expressed unhappiness about the slow pace of work of the STAR-Ghana project, and called on the RCC to fast-track its implementation by strengthening its supervisory and monitoring role on the Project.

Mr Bismark Ayorogo Adongo, the President of NORPRA, and spokesperson for the CSOs, stressed that the CSOs were very much interested in the Regional Strategic Development Component of the STAR-Ghana project, and expressed the hope that with the development of a Regional Strategic Development Plan, it would help market the region to attract more investors to the area.

He explained that the poverty in the Region was such that it required the support not only from Government but from donors who would be willing to support the development of the Region.