Cape Coast-Tuesday February 1, 2022: The first in a series of zonal refresher course on leadership and management for sixty-nine (69) Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in the Eastern, Central and Western Regions which begun on January 30, 2022 has ended. The programme was organised under the auspices of the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development (MLGDRD) in collaboration with the Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS).
Closing the ceremony, the Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, Hon. Daniel Botwe commended the MMDCEs for their co-operation and active participation and urged them to bring the knowledge, new competencies and skills acquired in leadership and managerial skills to bear on their respective Assemblies. He assured of MLGDRD’s commitment to work closely with the Local Government Service (LGS) and other institutions to ensure local governments respond to the felt needs of the citizenry.
The Director of the Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS), Dr. Nicholas Awortwi expressed appreciation to MLGDRD for the opportunity for collaborate to join the ministry’s transformation drive. He disclosed ILGS’ readiness to support the process with training and skills development programmes. He intimated that the ILGS plans to further deepen the knowledge of LGs in ‘’competitive or entrepreneurial municipality’’, ‘’community owned district assembly’’ where participation is key direction of achieving success and a’’ niche- driven municipality’’.
The Head of the Local Government Service, Ing. Dr. Nana Ato Arthur was also appreciative of the opportunity to participate in the programme. He described it as unique and said the LGS was very much commitment to the cause of ensuring effective local governance and development in the country.
He entreated the MMDCEs to lead the development agenda in their respective MMDAs and hinted that the Service will from the ensuing month commence a reshuffling exercise across board. This exercise according to him should not be seen as a move to witch–hunt rather be seen an opportunity for staff to deliver effective services to the citizenry especially those in underserved communities.
The 3-day zonal refresher course attracted resource persons drawn from the fields of practice and academia. Areas addressed included Ghana’s Local Governance, Decentrasliation and Public Management; Public procurement, projects and contracts management, local government revenues, disbursement and management of public funds.
Present at the training programme were the three (3) Deputy Ministers for Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, Registrar of the Institute of Local Government Studies, some Directors and staff of MLGDRD and the OHLGS.