Tamale – Wednesday April 26 – Thursday 27, 2023: The Office of the Head of Local Government Service (OHLGS) in collaboration with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) and the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) has ended the third of the four zonal workshops on the Local Economic Development (LED) Phase II programme for selected Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs) and Municipal Assemblies (MAs). The workshop with the objective to enhance the capacity of participating RCCs and MAs for the implementation of the Ghana Secondary Cities Support Project (GSCSP 2019-2025) was held at Tamale in the Northern Region. The programme brought together participants from five (5) Northern Regions: Northern, Savannah, North East, Upper East and Upper West Regions.
The Head of Service, Dr. Nana Ato Arthur, present at the opening remarked that the programme is key in promoting National Development. He urged participant to see the programme as a Government of Ghana (GoG) project rather than a World Bank project and give it the needed attention in providing urban services.
The five (5) year programme which ends in 2025 he said is currently in its 3rd year of implementation and the need for assessment has however become critical in forging ahead. This he said would afford participating RCCs and MAs the opportunity to identify the milestone they have chalked on the program as well as strengthen possible efforts on its successful implementation for effective urban management and service delivery.
The OHLGS he said has the responsibility to provide RCCs and participating MAs with the training and capacity support services to ensure that key staff are in place but the responsibility he said lies on the key staff to make sure they apply the knowledge acquired.
He therefore urged participants to consider the training as a stepping stone in delivering their mandates which would contribute to strengthening government systems and implementation of existing policy framework and action plans.
The commitment of staff which includes being punctual at work he said contributes in achieving their mandates. However, some staff of the Local Government Service (LGS) he said, have chosen to go to office as and when they wish. This attitude towards work he said is unacceptable, hence his recent unannounced visits to MMDAs to make sure staff are at post and working. He cautioned that; staff found culpable would be dealt with accordingly.
The workshop among other things, enlightened participants on the implementation status of the Ghana Secondary Cities Support Project (GSCSP), Ghana Enterprises Agency’s (GEAs) contribution to Local Economic Development, how to promote projects at various levels and how to get investors to invest in their respective projects which were taken by GIPC. The programme also featured working group sessions and presentations from participants on identified projects in their localities.
The 2-Day training programme was climaxed with a visit to Azura Products, a shea butter processing company in the Sagnarigu District in the Northern Region. Participants had the opportunity to witness the processing of Shea butter from start to finish. Participants patronised some of the products of Azura as a gesture to support the operations of the company.
The fourth and final zonal training will take place in the Volta Region for participants from Greater Accra, Eastern, Oti and Volta Regions.