Bridge the information gap to promote accountability

Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) have been asked to take steps to bridge the information gap to increase the people’s participation in the planning and budgeting processes.

Madam Fati Lily Soale of the Local Government and Rural Development Ministry said this was the way to go to strengthen efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability in their financial management.

She was speaking at a day’s seminar held to build the capacity of MMDAs in the Ashanti Region to improve the quality of service delivery.

It brought together Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), Coordinating Directors, presiding members, department heads and planning officers.

Madam Soale spoke of the need to ensure that the people participated more proactively in shaping their own development and in promoting good governance.

She made reference to the findings of a baseline perception survey commissioned by the Ministry with funding from the World Bank that showed that overall majority of the citizens were dissatisfied with the level of the assemblies’ responsiveness to their needs and demands.

Half of the respondents were dissatisfied, 27 per cent, however, said they were satisfied with 24 per cent undecided.

Regarding the financial management processes, 70 per cent of them said they were unhappy with the way the assemblies accounted for public funds and would want them regulated by social accountability processes.

The survey was conducted across 23 selected assemblies’ nationwide, sampling 1,490 households.

Madam Soale said things needed to radically change and that the MMDAs should do more to improve the people’s involvement in the planning and budget process.
Mr. Kofi Dwomoh Asubonteng, the Regional Coordinating Director, asked them to put the development of the people at the centre of everything they did and worked to meet their expectations.