Workshop on capacity building for assembly members in budgeting

By Elsie Appiah-Osei, GNA
Accra, May 26, GNA - A two-day Youth Sensitivity Analysis of the 2016 National Budget Workshop has ended in Accra with a call on stakeholders to build the capacity of Assembly Members in budgeting.

Mr Seth Oteng, the Executive Director of the Youth Bridge Foundation (YBF), who made the call on Wednesday, said there is the need for stakeholders to support assembly members, majority of who are the youth technically through trainings for them to recognise their capacities.

'Let us work with the Assembly Members by engaging and promoting grass root discussions in budgeting for them to be abreast of the necessary ideas that make up the composition of budget as well as addressing their needs through the engagement,' he said.

Mr Oteng also called on the media to be involved in budgetary issues, terminologies and simplify them for citizenry's understanding as doing so would help the education be more intensified and proactive.

On the selection of participants, the Executive Director said it was focused on the three Northern Regions, Southern and Coastal Sector youth groups.

'We have participants comprising the Navrongo Youth Association, Northern Region Youth Association, Young Investors and CAMFEDF from the Southern and Coastal sector, as well as representatives from the National Youth Authority in the Districts,' he said.

Mr Peter Aidoo, the Deputy Head of the Budget Planning and Preparation Unit of the Ministry of Finance, took participants through the budget preparation process with emphasis on stages in the process where the youth could participate in the process.

He asked the youth to submit inputs into the preparation of the budget when the unit calls for submissions in the coming weeks.

Some participants who spoke with the Ghana News Agency lauded YBF, the initiators of the workshop for an educative and interactive session that had enlighten and made them known the opportunities available for them

The workshop was organised by the YBF in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and funded by the European Union.

GNA