The Ministry of Local Government Decentralisation and Rural Development (MLGDRD) and the Social Investment Fund (SIF) have launched phase II of the Integrated Rural Development Project (IRDP II).

It is a plan to improve access to social and economic infrastructure as well as boost access to credits for small and medium enterprises involved in food crop marketing, agro-processing and other activities along the agricultural value chain.

The project is being implemented in 23 districts in the sixteen regions of Ghana; it has been designed to improve the living conditions of rural communities by providing access to basic infrastructure and socio-economic services including health and education and to ensure a sustainable increase in income through the provision of micro-credit to the rural impoverished communities.

The goal of the project is to facilitate job creation, enhance access to socio-economic infrastructure and improve livelihoods for sustainable poverty reduction. The project will also increase rural communities' resilience to climate change's impact.

Mr. Daniel Botwe, Hon. Minister for MLGDRD was optimistic that the project will be implemented to serve the people's aspirations at the grassroots level to engender poverty alleviation.

Emeritus Professor Kwasi Kwafo Adarkwa who was chair for the event opined that the results of projects long after implementation should be mainstreamed into the operational workplans of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to consolidate the gains of project implementation for sustainable development. This he said will result in on-ground actions to actually ensure poverty alleviation.

Source:              Public Relations Unit (MLGDRD)

The Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, Hon. Daniel Botwe has said that poverty can be alleviated when well-structured laid down policies of the government are enforced focusing on decentralisation.

He noted that the vision of the Ministry as a policy-formulating entity is to attain good governance and equitable and balanced development at the local level through its policies.

Hon. Daniel Botwe made the above observation at an international conference on the theme, "Piloting China's Targeted Poverty Alleviation Model in West Africa under Chinese Pace to Modernisation."

He noted that the government needs to ensure policies geared towards poverty alleviation are enforced and adequately supervised.

1. E. Lu Kun, China's Ambassador to Ghana, noted that his country has reduced poverty from 90 percent to one percent in recent years, noting that "China's poverty alleviation model is not one size fits all."

Mr. Kun said China is ready to support West Africa to alleviate poverty at the rural level.

Source:        Public Relations Unit (MLGDRD)

A stakeholder consultative meeting on the Land Use and Spatial Planning Amendment Bill (2023) has been held in Accra today.

The object of the meeting forms part of the processes required for a bill to go through to become and Act after having consulted key stakeholders.

Stakeholders were drawn from Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of state as well as Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies across the nation to give inputs into what will become the final document to serve efficiently its intended purpose.

Speaking at the meeting, Hon. O. B. Amoah, Minister of State at the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development (MLGDRD) mentioned that, the Bill is to amend the Land Use and Spatial Planning Act 2016(Act 925) to cure the inconsistencies, inadequacies and ambiguities in some provisions of the Act after six years of implementation.

This he said will enable an effective management of the mandate of the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority (LUSPA) which was set up by Act 925 especially in pursuant to the recent re-alignment of LUSPA from the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) to the MLGDRD.

The Chief Director of the MLGDRD, Mr. Amin Abdul-Rahaman in his address expressed regret on the issues of acquisition of building permits, absence of local plans, area re-zoning, building of unauthorized structures on waterways amongst others as concerns within various communities and local authority areas.

These and others he said have occasioned reforms within the local government sector towards addressing the aspirations of the people.

Mr. Kojo Yeboah, Acting CEO of LUSPA, was optimistic that the Amendment Bill when passed by Parliament, will change the face of the Authority and propel it onto greater heights to continue to deliver on its core mandate.