By Erica Apeatua Addo, GNA
Tarkwa (W/R), June 24, GNA - The Tarkwa Nsueam Assembly has organised aday’s training workshop for stakeholders within the Municipality on the Local Governance Act.
The training, which was attended by Assembly members and Heads of Departments was to help them to identify the major changes in the Local Governance Act and also enrich their decision making process.
In an address, Mr Gilbert Kennedy Asmah, Municipal Chief Executive (MEC) for Tarkwa Nsueam explained that the Local Government Landscape was fast changing with the primary objective of stepping up inclusiveness, participation and ensuring greater and more acceptable level of accountability and transparency on the side of duty bearers.
According to him in 2010, government undertook a major review of the decentralised programme and that one emerging issue that arose was the need to harmonise the various legislations on local government and decentralisation.
The MCE said since the changes were effected, it had become difficult for practitioners especially those at the district and municipal levels to properly understand the Act and apply it.
He said to overcome those challenges, the local governance Act 2016 was enacted to amend the District Assembly Common Fund, 1993 (Act 455), Local Governance Act, 1993 (Act 462), Local Governance Service Act, 2003 (Act 656), National Development Planning System Act, 1994 (Act 480) and the Internal Audit Agency Act, 2003 (Act 658).
The Act 936, he said provided for ease of reference and addressed the inconsistencies and contradictions in the previous Act.
Mr Asmah noted that it also embodied lessons and emerging developments in the Local Governance that have been realised over the years.
The MCE was hopeful that the stakeholders would understand the local governance system and deepen their working with it after the training.
Speaking at the programme, Professor John Victor Mensah, facilitator from the University of Cape Coast, institute for Development Studies, stressed that the pervious provisions in the Act were not comprehensive enough.
He said for instance, with the inclusion of local government service in the process, the role of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) in the local governance had some specific sources of framing to support their activities.
"This time round instead of Assemblies sending their by-laws to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development they have to submit them to RCC, and they will have to review them in line with the constitution of Ghana".
He said such by-laws should be gazetted and published in the daily newspapers before it could be implemented as laws.
Prof. Mensah said copies of the by-laws should also be given to courts to serve as reference points for them when they were dealing with such issues.
He emphasised that with the new changes, the various Assemblies and Heads of Departments would improve on their performance and work effectively and efficiently to meet the needs of the populace.
GNA
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