Koforidua, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in local governance are advocating a fixed date for District Level Elections (DLE) as part of efforts towards addressing the general apathy that has characterised local elections in Ghana.
They want Parliament to come out with a specific date dedicated for the DLE just like the national elections, which is conducted on December 7, every four years.
Representatives of the CSOs made the submission during a national dialogue on the 2023 District Level Elections held in Koforidua in the Eastern Region to discuss strategies to create awareness on the impending elections.
The Koforidua dialogue was the third of series of engagements which has already been conducted in the northern and middle zones in Tamale and Kumasi respectively.
It was attended by participants from the Eastern, Volta, Oti, Western, Greater Accra, and Central Regions.
Funded by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the dialogue was put together by a consortium of CSOs including the Local Governance Network (LOGNet), Public Financial Management Network (PFM-Network), and Chamber of Local Governance (CHaloG).
Virtually all participants who made presentations in groups, made a strong case for a particular day to be set aside for the DLE to remove the perennial uncertainties surrounding the conduct of the local elections.
It was their contention that enough awareness could be created about the election when stakeholders were certain of the date for the election which, according to them, was as crucial as the national elections.
They said the local governance system was the foundation of the governance structure in Ghana and could only function effectively through the election of representatives of the people at the local level.
Mr Christopher Dapaah, National Coordinator of LOGNet, said the low turnout at DLEs and related activities were taking much more of national resources and if nothing was done about it, a lot of taxpayers’ money would continue to be wasted at the detriment of development.
‘Ghana, our Motherland and the democratic icon in Africa is losing the drive of the local democratic governance and therefore, it is critical to take steps through dialogue among stakeholders and experts to strategise effective campaign modalities to improve and help in sustaining systems for true local governance before the total thrust of democratic nation is lost,’ he observed.
Democracy, he said, could only be meaningful if citizens at the local level felt, owned and belonged to its operations and aspirations, owned fiscal or financial power, participate in mobilising and utilising resources in more appropriate ways.
He, therefore, urged development partners and key stakeholders to give prominence to DLEs as they do for parliamentary and presidential elections, acknowledging that local government authorities constituted the fulcrum for local development.
Mr. Seth Acheampong, the Eastern Regional Minister, in a speech read for him, underlined the need for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to frequently engage citizens to make them feel part of the decentralisation system.
‘Engaging communities and addressing issues facing them foster an environment of openness, accountability, and inclusive governance at the local level,’ he pointed out.
He also spoke about the involvement of the media in awareness creation on the DLE, saying that, ‘We all know how vibrant the Ghanaian media has been over the years and it is hoped that the media will continue to support efforts in this regard.’
Source: Ghana News Agency
