District assemblies urged to make sub-structures functional

Saltpond (C/R), March 23, GNA - The Assin North director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Mr Thomas Yallow, has stated that the success of the decentralisation policy was being hampered because the district assemblies do not pay attention to sub-district structures.

Unless the assemblies provide resources to the unit committees to make them function effectively, the decentralisation policy will continue to hang at the top with nothing going on at the grassroots, he cautioned.

Mr Yallow expressed regret that the majority of unit committees instituted about three years ago had not been inaugurated and no effort had been made to give them orientation on their roles.

"Yet their term of office of four years is expected to be ending next year and a new election will be conducted to elect people to replace those who are currently in office doing nothing," he told the Ghana News Agency in an interview at Saltpond, during a workshop on promoting good governance in Ghana.

Mr Yallow said strengthening the sub-structures of the district assemblies and building capacity of the members were the surest way to promote good governance in the country. He said if the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development did not act swiftly to save the situation, people would not offer themselves for election to "non-functional unit committees".