As part of Government policy on Social Accountability, the Anloga District Assembly is mandated to regularly present information on public financial management to citizens of the District. Anloga District Assembly in collaboration with other stakeholders organized a Town hall Meeting on Tuesday 16th March 2021 at the Anloga District Assembly Hall.
Government is committed to deepening the decentralization process of bringing public sector decisions closer to the people to empower local communities, such that they can actively take part in the prioritization, implementation and monitoring of government development programs.
The meeting primarily targeted the following groups of persons/stakeholders:
Traditional Authorities (Rep. of Traditional Authority), Heads of Decentralized and Non-Decentralized Departments, Civil Society Organizations/ Non-Governmental Organizations, Area Council Representative (2 reps from each Area Council), Self-employed artisans/professional associations and groups, Landlords/Land owners, Drivers Associations/Unions, Media (Sand City and Jubilee Radio), Women Groups (Market Queens), Disabled and marginalized groups (Chairman & Secretary, PWD – AnDA) and Other interested organizations.
The Presiding Member of the Anloga District Assembly in the person of Hon. Joseph Kwabla Kpatah chaired this meeting. He was supported by other dignitaries like the Hon. District Chief Executive (DCE) ANDDistrict Co-ordinating Director (DCD).
The Hon. District Chief Executive, Hon. Seth Yormewu thanked Chiefs and other stakeholders for honouring the meeting and also extended his pleasure for the massive contributions and constructive critics from the citizenry as one of the core checks towards the Assembly’s performances.
The Hon. DCE was quick to also thank the President of the Republic for giving heal to their call and creating this assembly and that as it stands now, the assembly is two (2) years, the youngest amongst the eighteen (18) assemblies in the Volta Region but one of the first five in terms of DPAT performance.
The Hon. DCE’s speech touched on several developmental projects which covered education, health, security, management of Covid-19 and so on.
In his speech, The Hon. DCE disclosed his happiness as the health directorate of the assembly had chalked several successes within its 1st year of operations. Among them was the recent rankings where there were ranked first (1st) in the Volta Region on health care delivery.
Management of Covid-19:
The Hon. DCE applauded the hardworking staffs of the Assembly, especially the District Public Health Emergency Committee for their work in helping to combat the deadly Covid-19 virus pandemic in the District.
Security Issues:
The Hon. DCE was also grateful to the Ghana Police Service and all other security-related agencies for fighting security issues in the Assembly and also pinpointed the very few security threats (teenage prostitution, use of hard drugs, stealing of electric cables).
The Hon. DCE appealed to the general public that all patriotic and honouring citizens of Anloga should, at anytime volunteer information relating to security threat to the relevant authorities and that managing or fighting security issues is a shared responsibility.
After the speech of the DCE, it was time for questions and answers.. There were also some recommendations on how the District Assembly can improve its work. On the questions asked, the District Chief Executive answered favorably to all of them to the satisfaction of those present and said there are plans in place to extend more basic infrastructure to other parts of the district.
There were other presentations from the District Budget Analyst and the District Planning officer who took turns to present to the general public performances of all funding sources and projects of the District, respectively.
The Townhall meeting was a complete success. The Chairman thanked all stakeholders for coming and pleaded with Management to help organise more of such Townhall meeting to bring participation in Local Government Affairs down to the local people.