Viable District Sub-structures and Citizens' Participation: Whose Responsibilty?

(A GNA feature by Fatima Anafu-Astanga)
    
Bolgatanga (U/E), May 20, GNA - 'I like to see a man proud of the place he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him', Abraham Lincoln once said.

Democracy is beautiful when participation of citizens become part of the governance system with the ultimate aim to bring change and development to all. This is realized when measures are put in place for the realization of these goals.

The implementation of people's participation in local governance rests in the decentralized administration of the various District and Municipal Assemblies. The system  at the local level is to function in a way and manner that would let people appreciate the fact that they are truly participating in decision making and governance of the nation.

It is recalled that the late President Professor John Atta Mills at the inauguration of the District Assemblies three years ago empowered all District Assemblies with the authority to take up the mantle to harness resources at the local levels and bring development to their areas.

The Local Government Act 1993 and LI 462 also define the duties and responsibilities of Assembly members which include maintaining close touch with communities or electoral areas, consulting them on issues to be discussed in the District Assembly and also collate views and opinions and proposals.    They are also to report on general decisions of the Assembly and its Executive Committee and actions taken to solve problems raised by residents in the electoral area.

The NDC Government under the Administration of the late President Mills reduced the number of unit committees to 5,000 to be coterminous with electoral areas and these interventions are core to the implementation of the Sub-district structures.

Three years down the line, those structures that District and Municipal Assemblies were tasked to implement in the various assemblies to deepen  the democratic processes in the country have not received much consideration. Yet these are the structures that serve as building blocks for Ghana's Decentralization system which would bring about the promotion and strengthening of democracy in the country. As it were, they are meant to ensure that the District Assembly system is further strengthened and governance deepened at the local level.

The efforts to push forward this agenda have, however, not been vigorously pursued by most District and Municipal Assemblies. Some of these structures have not been inaugurated and where Town Councils and Unit Committees exist, they are saddled with numerous challenges that impede their operation. Most of them are not only dysfunctional, but their offices are also infested with bats.

This is because directives charging the Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) to ensure that they delegate some of their functions to the Local Councils have not been taken seriously and no punishment has been meted out to those who refuse to abide by these rules.

If these sub structures were fully operational and effective, most assemblies would be relieved of their financial burdens, since the staff working in these substructures would help in the mobilization of revenue and other resources.

Clearly, most MDAs are not doing well in their revenue generation to support the efforts of Central Government and have heavily depended on the Common Fund, ignoring other avenues that exist in their various districts. 

Four sittings of an Assembly in a year have a lot of implications on the purse of the MDAs in terms of payment of sitting allowances of assembly members.

Recent revelations at the Public Accounts Committee indicate that huge sums of government funds have been lost due to poor monitoring, and ought to be a wakeup call especially to all public institutions.  Which Local revenue collectors were responsible for the massive loss and deliberate misplacement of their revenue books in order to cover up and evade punishment?

A tour around sub-district structures in the Upper East Region revealed that these interventions that are supposed to ensure effective functioning and management of the assemblies still leave much to be desired.  

Mr Moro Adam, District Chief Executive (DCE) for  Bawku West agreed that revenue mobilization in the district was bad due to the absence of sub-district structures. He indicated that unit committees did not write or present monthly reports, citing Binaba, Zongoyire and Gbantongo among other areas.

He said the District Assemblies were not mandated to pay salaries and suggested that government supported in the recruitment and payment of salaries of staff working in the sub-district structures so as to enable them to work effectively. He added that plans were advanced for the implementation of the Zebilla Town Council and Unit Committee to pilot this arrangement.

Sub-structure offices at Sumbrungu near Bolgatanga and areas under Kassena-Nankana West  have remained locked up.

Mr. Alexis Ayamdor, Regional focal person of IBIS West Africa who spoke in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, also indicated that an Assembly Sub-District structure should have a full complement of staff equipped with the necessary logistics to work, which emphasises the need for  office accommodation, furniture, stationery and remuneration for the staff so they do a good job.

IBIS West Africa has been one of the civil society organizations whose advocacy roles in promoting the implementation of local governance and operationalization of these sub district structures has been very comendable.

According to Mr Ayamdor, IBIS piloted the programme in the Upper East in 2002 for a period of five years and the currently ongoing phase would come to an end in 2013. Though he praised the success chalked in some districts, he was not happy with the general response rate by Assemblies towards  the full implementation of the sub-district structures.

He however commended the Garu Assembly for the full implementation of the sub-structures and called for political commitment of the country's leadership to the decentralization programme, saying that if carried out properly it would enhance community mobilization and revenue generation.

He suggested that government could use the NYEP programme and National Service Scheme to recruit personnel to work in these sub-district structures. When these personnel work well, concerns such as the absence of funds to pay them will no more be relevant, he added, saying a percentage of the revenue generated could be retained at the sub-structure level for payment of personnel, as well as their operational cost.

However, at the Public Accounts Committee proceedings it emerged that many assemblies had lost a lot of revenue due to  poor accounting procedures and the misplacement of revenue books. No authority ever held the revenue staff of such Assemblies to book until the Committee started its work and demanded for audited records.

Among other benefits of these sub-structures is that they help local actors at the grassroots to mobilize revenue in the communities for the Assemblies. They also help in the planning, implementation and maintenance, as well as hold duty bearers accountable for their actions.

The role of other decentralized departments is also key to the development of the MDAs. Significant among them is the CHPS compounds of the Ghana Health Service which serve in the rural communities.  Health issues are paramount if Ghana would achieve the MDGs on health, and this calls for effective grassroots involvement in the management and care of CHPS compounds at the local level. Significantly, the running of these centres lies with the midwives and nurses posted to man these community health centres. It should also be acknowledged that public education on health, sanitation and epidemics in the communities can effectively be managed with the involvement of stakeholders in the communities -  not excluding the assembly member. That is just how important the grassroots structures are to the development of the rural communities, and the nation as a whole.

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