The Chief of Bamvum Manguli, Naa Alhassan Abdul Rahaman, has called on women and young people in the Tamale Metropolitan Area to take up leadership roles and actively participate in local governance.
He said the time had come for women and youth to participate in local government elections, particularly by contesting Assembly Member and Unit Committee positions.
The Chief made the call during the launch of the Women and Youth Active Participation in Local Governance (WOYO) Project in the Tamale Metropolis.
He said young people have the creativity, energy and ability to contribute significantly to the development of their communities and urged traditional rulers and other authorities to support them to participate in leadership.
“I encourage women and youth to start participating actively in political roles like the Assembly Member elections and Unit Committees,” he stated.
Supporting the call, the Assembly Member for the Dungu Electoral Area in the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, Hon. Alhaji Okocha, identified fear as one of the major factors holding women and young people back from participating in local governance.
He urged the youth to be courageous and develop a can-do spirit, saying a determined approach to leadership and civic participation could help overcome the barriers they face.
Also speaking at the launch, youth and women advocate Zakaria Raha encouraged young people to take advantage of the Right to Information (RTI) law to demand accountability from duty bearers in their communities.
She said citizens could use the law to seek information on stalled development projects and other public issues affecting their communities.
She added that where state institutions fail to provide information or respond to concerns, citizens could consider lawful civic actions, including demonstrations, to demand accountability.
The WOYO Project is a three-month initiative by the Ghana Offline Community, a youth-led organization based in Northern Ghana. The project is aimed at promoting and strengthening the participation of women and young people in decision-making at the grassroots level.
According to the Project Lead, Marvin Selassie Ackuayi, the active participation of women and young people in local governance is essential to ensuring that decisions at the grassroots level reflect the needs and aspirations of communities.
“Women and young people make up a significant part of our communities, and their voices must therefore be part of the decisions that affect their lives,” he said.
He added that their participation could bring fresh ideas, energy and perspectives to local governance and contribute to better development outcomes.
The WOYO project is supported by Norsaac and its partners through the HEARD Project, which provides resources and guidance for young people to lead and participate in decision-making processes.
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