Accra – Wednesday 21st June, 2023: The OHLGS-USAID-CARE partnership has been launched in an official ceremony held at the Alisa Hotels in Accra. The launch was to amongst other things brief stakeholders on the DAGI tool and to also have an overview of the key findings on the current performance of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDA) in agric expenditure trends.
The Head of the Local Government Service, Ing. Dr. Nana Ato Arthur, in his opening remarks said the relevance of the launch was to ensure the integration of agricultural indicators into the Local Government Service Performance Management System for Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs) and MMDAs in Ghana. The project, he revealed, aims at prioritising agriculture in resource allocation at the local level, forging a path towards sustainable development and economic prosperity.
He called on MMDAs to embrace and take full advantage of the opportunities the program presents and work in close collaboration with Development Partners to provide support to the agric sector in the areas of sponsoring the training of staff of the Department of Agric to intensify monitoring and supervision.
These he said would equip agricultural officers to overcome the obstacles faced in the delivery of service as well as to unlock their potential to use part of the resources from Internally Generated Fund (IGF), District Assemblies’ Common Fund (DACF) and any other sources of funding to support the agric sector reap the targeted goals.
Dr. Ato Arthur said, the commitment of government remains resolute and firm in fostering innovation, providing access to finance, strengthening market linkages and providing the required environment for Agriculture to thrive. The government, he said, will continue to create an enabling environment for investors and development partners to support the agric sector.
USAID/Ghana Mission Director, Kimberly Rosen in a brief statement recognized the crucial role of agriculture in the economy of Ghana. USAID, she assured, is committed to improving governance to enhance productivity in this sector. USAID has Since 2016, worked closely with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, and the Office of the Head of the Local Government Service, in collaboration with CARE International, to strengthen governance in agriculture. The integration of the DAGI, she said, would ensure that RCCs and MMDAs deliver on their mandate and be accountable and responsive to the people they serve.
She expressed the commitment of USAID to work together with all stakeholders to ensure a clear understanding of the Governance Index and support its use across all levels of government in the agricultural sector, from policy to execution.
The Program Team Leader: Food and Nutrition Security of Care International in Ghana, Agnes Loriba delivered a statement on behalf of the Country Director. She stated that the efforts by CARE in Inclusive Governance (IG), with the USAID-funded Ghana Strengthening Accountability Mechanisms (GSAM) Activity and the AGREE Activity in the north have assisted MMDAs to become more receptive and responsive to citizens’ needs. Over 2 million Ghanaians, according to her, have been beneficiaries of local government service delivery in the areas of education, health, agriculture, and resource management from GSAM and other inclusive governance initiatives.
The DAGI, she indicated, was implemented in 28 districts of the USAID Zone of Influence in the 5 Regions in northern Ghana between 2017-2020. Following this achievement, CARE and USAID engaged OHLGS in late 2022 about the prospect of building a strategic alliance to expand the DAGI benefits nationally to assess the responsiveness of all MMDAs’ to agricultural development in Ghana.
She acknowledged the generous funding support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the principal donor to CARE. She also revealed that the same donor, USAID, has awarded CARE Ghana a 50-million-dollar grant for an education improvement project which began in April 2023.
Delivering the keynote address, the Chairman of Public Services Commission, Prof. Victor K. Agyeman, Esq. recalled the milestone in the Agricultural Sector the country has chalked over the past seven (7) years. This he said has been largely due to the introduction of government’s flagship programs; Planting for Food and Jobs(PFJ), Planting for Export and Rural Development and many other specialized programs. All these interventions together, he said, have contributed to creating jobs and general economic growth.
As a strong advocate of agriculture, he was hopeful that the partnership would support the efforts of government in building a resilient agricultural economy within our Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) and also ensure that the agricultural sector becomes the engine of growth for the Ghanaian economy.
The Chairman of the occasion, Hon Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa, the Volta Regional Minister who doubles as the Dean of all Regional Ministers in his remarks, opined that, the program aims to improve development in our agricultural sector.
Dr. Letsa in a closing remark expressed his admiration for the successful partnership program(launch) and pledged his commitment to the full implementation of the indicators to increase the income of peasants and to ensure food security.
He also entreated all Regional Ministers and Staff of the Local Government Service to do same at the local level to improve the economic development of our country.
The Director of Management and Technical Services (OHLGS), Mrs. Lilian Baeka and the Ag. Chief of Party, AGREE Activity (CARE International in Ghana), Mr. Chrys Pul took turns to present key findings on the current performance of MMDAs in agric expenditure trends and the DAGI Tools respectively.
Present at the Launch were some Stakeholders/Representatives from Stakeholder Institutions such as OHCS, NDPC, MLGDRD, MOFA, Hon. Henry Quartey (Greater Accra Regional Minister), Hon. Nii Lante Vanderpuye, RCDs, Chiefs, Members of the Women in Agriculture Group, Agric Directors and Directors and Staff of the OHLGS.
The full integration of the DAGI indicators into the Performance Management System of the Local Government Service is a sustainable approach to measuring agriculture performance across the Country.
