NCCE Organises Focus Group Discussions On Local Government System In Obuasi

The Obuasi Municipal office of the National Commission for Civil Education (NCCE) on Tuesday, 26th January 2016 organized a Focus Group Discussions on Local Government for stakeholders in Obuasi.

The commission which was established by Act 452 of the Parliament of Ghana in 1993 is among other things mandated to educate the general public on their civic rights and responsibilities.

The focus group for the discussion included chiefs, the clergy, men and women groups, youth groups, Assembly Members and Unit Committee Members in the Municipality.

A Government appointee to the Obuasi Assembly and the chairperson for the programme, Mrs. Christiana Kagya revealed that the local government/ decentralization concept in Ghana though has been practiced for a long time, it is still yet to find its feet. She continued that such programmes by NCCE will give opportunity for people to really understand the whole decentralization system.

In a speech read on his behalf, the Municipal Chief Executive for Obuasi, Hon. Richard Ofori Agyemang Boadi highlighted extensively on the relevance of the Local Government/ Decentralization system. He said, the decentralization system is intended to take the workload off the central government and to ensure the development of the local level.

He tasked discussants to use the opportunity to explore the strength, weakness and find out the progress of the local government system. Hon. Ofori Agyemang further charged Assembly Members to intensify communication between them and their electorates on every Assembly meeting.

Mr. Alhassan Yakubu, theAshanti Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education praised participants for coming out in their numbers to support this worthy cause. He, again, tasked them to fully participate in the discussion since their contributions will go a long way to deepen and consolidate the Local Government/ Decentralization concept in the Municipality.

The Municipal Director of NCCE, Mr. Emmanuel Duah Attobrah who thanked the European Union (E.U) for their unflinching support to the success of the programme also singled out the Obuasi Municipal Assembly for praise for its continuous support to the Department.

GROUP DISCUSSION

Participants were divided into four (4) groups to discuss the following subjects;

1. Challenges confronting District Assembly Members in the performance of their duties.
2. The challenges to the work of the Unit Committee Members
3. Strategies to strengthen and ensures community participation/support for the work of the Unit Committee and Assembly Members.
4. Factors that account for low voter turnout at the District Level Elections.

The group discussions were immediately followed by a presentation by the four groups

Mr. Anthony Bucknor, the Deputy Coordinating Director of Obuasi Municipal Assembly represented the MCE for Obuasi, the Regional Director, NCCE-Ashanti, Chiefs, Assembly Members, Youth Groups, NGOs and the Media were present.