‘Good governance is founded on citizens’ access to information’

Access to information encourages citizens to participate effectively in making and implementing decisions affecting their daily lives which reinforces the principles of good governance, Dr Esther Ofei-Aboagye, Director of the Institute of Local Government Studies, has said.

“Good governance is predicated on various principles that involve citizens being able to participate in the formulation and implementation of decisions that affect them, but this basic assumption is underpinned by access to information,” she stressed.

Dr Ofei-Aboagye made the remarks at the on-going Sixty-Sixth Annual New Year School and Conference at the University of Ghana, on the theme: “Improving the Performance of Local Government System in the Era of E-governance.”

Participants from the academia, industry, government and non-governmental organisations, are discussing topics comprising the state of local government reforms and the role of e-governance, fiscal decentralisation: managing resources through e-governance.

The discussants are also deliberating on subjects like social accountability and citizens’ participation, using e-platform for knowledge and information dissemination, roles of various actors in promoting effective local governance using e-resources and sustainable decentralization goals.

Dr Ofei-Aboagye noted that local governance should involve stakeholder participation and joint ownership of development initiatives, resource mobilization and allocation by local authorities, interests groups and citizens.

“Local administrators, technocrats and service delivery entities must be able to access, relate to, disseminate information to and generate feedback from and collaborate with traditional and emerging interest groups,” she added.

She said farmer-based organisations, community level social, savings and welfare clubs, faith groupings, traditional as well as youth associations must consciously be involved and encouraged to be proactive at the local level of the governance process.

“But all the groups could only be effective provided they have understanding of the development options which necessitates access to critical information requiring of communication of channels and responsiveness on the part of duty bearers and service providers.”

Dr Ofei-Aboagye, therefore, called for the adoption of innovations and technological advancements and best practices that would facilitate information availability, dissemination, exchange, feedback between the government and governance stakeholders.