Institute Of Local Government Studies Gets A Council

An 11-member Council of the Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS) was on Wednesday inaugurated with a charge on members to rise above challenges and provide support for the overall policy direction of the institute.

They were also tasked to help find innovative ways of addressing challenges and uphold high standards in the performance of the institute to ensure it stayed relevant and competitive, Hajia Alima Mahama, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), who administered the oath of office to the members said.

She stated: 'I urge you to rise above the challenges and provide support for the overall policy direction of the institute, and help find innovative ways of addressing these challenges.

'Your membership of the council is to tap into your expertise and experiences that ensure that management upholds high standards in the performance of their duties, so that the institute stays relevant and competitive,' she said.

Hajia Alima Mahama said Article 240 (2) of the Constitution required the local government system to have functions and resources transferred to local authorities in a co-ordinated manner.

It also states that measures be taken to enhance the capacities of Local Government Authorities to plan, initiate, coordinate, manage and execute government policies, and being the priority of government to invest in Ghanaian citizens and institutions, it was the responsibility of the Council to work in that direction.

Hajia Mahama observed that the ILGS was the only institution devoted for capacity building for the local government sector in Ghana and the sub-region, and urged members of the Council to be committed in discharging their duties in order to up-lift the image of the institute.

The Board is chaired by Naba Moses Abaare Appiah IV, Binaba, Bawku Traditional Area.

Other members are; Mr Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, the Member of Parliament of Asante Akim Central, Madam Agnes Talata Chiravira, Upper East, Rev Mrs Eva Asare Bediako, Accra, and Dr Dadson Awunyo-Vitor, the Director of ILGS.

Others are; Mr Jonathan Azasoo of the National Development Planning Commission, Mr Kokro Amankwah of the National Association of Local Authorities in Ghana, Dr Lawrence A. Kannae of the Public Service Commission, Dr Nana Ato Arthur of the Local Government Service, Alhaji Yar Ishaq Alhasan, of the MLGRD and Professor Imoro Braimah of the Kwame Nkrumah University Of Science and Technology.

Naba Moses Abaare Appiah IV, the new chair elect, said the council was going to work diligently to help position the institute on a high pedestal.

The Council would serve for four years.
GNA
By Elsie Appiah-Osei, GNA