Takoradi – 10th to 12th November, 2025: The Office of the Head of Local Government Service (OHLGS) held a three-day management retreat at Busua in the Ahanta West District. The retreat among others, aimed at equipping participants with essential strategic leadership and management skills.
The Head of the Local Government Service, Prof Lord Mensah described the retreat as the first of its kind since his assumption of office.
Speaking at the opening of the retreat, Prof Mensah stated that the retreat is designed to ensure that management is brought up to speed with emerging trends in the local governance sector, enabling them to provide the needed leadership for the Service.
“Being the first of its kind since my assumption of office, I am confident that at the end of this retreat, we will have been equipped with the needed strategic leadership and management skills, a culture of effective team building and innovation within the OHLGS, all of which are key to driving development within the service in particular and in Ghana and at large,” he said.
Prof Mensah extended profound gratitude and appreciation to GIZ for their contributions in advancing local governance in Ghana and the entire African region.
He stated that the Local Government Service is incomplete without GIZ’s goodwill and unflinching support for its activities.
“I would say that we are extremely grateful. Without you, I think we wouldn’t have realised some of the things that we do as far as the Local Government Service is concerned,” Prof Mensah stated.
The Head of Service disclosed that the retreat is also designed to provide a platform for management members to offer input and feedback on a draft medium-term development plan for 2026 to 2029 to ensure its finalisation and key areas for improvement.
He explained that the retreat will enable management to develop practical strategies to enhance service delivery across the LGS.
Prof Mensah emphasised that capacity building for OHLGS staff is necessary to enable them to lead sub-national effectively.
He noted that as the service invests a reasonable percentage of its resources to build capacities of its staff across the various Regional Coordinating Councils, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, OHLGS personnel cannot be left out.
“We cannot be building the capacity sub-national institutions whilst the headquarters is left out. So, we have a purpose for gathering here,” he stated.
The Head of Service acknowledged that 2025 has been a challenging yet very productive year, particularly in mobilising resources needed to implement operational activities.
He noted that the slogan throughout the year has been “there’s no money.”
“Nevertheless, with the invaluable support of our development partners, we have made significant progress in delivering on all our mandates. Our efforts continue to gain momentum and our presence here today is yet another opportunity to build our capacities to advance local governance in Ghana,” Prof Mensah said.
He stated that over the next few days, management will deliberate on key issues that reflect the core functions of OHLGS, emphasizing the importance of working closely as a team.
Prof Mensah encouraged officers to actively participate to ensure they reap the full benefist intended for the programme.
He quoted former US President Barack Obama, who remarked that no matter how much you have done or how successful you have been, there is always more to do, always more to learn and always more to achieve.
“Leadership is not about titles and positions. Leadership is about one life influencing another and getting the work done,” Prof Mensah stated.