The European Union (EU), Expertise France Groupe, and the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development (MLGDRD) have initiated dialogue with five Municipal Assemblies (MAs) to implement the Sustainable Cities Project in the northern regions of Ghana.

The implementing MAs of the Sustainable Cities Project are Wa in the Upper West Region,  West Gonja in the Savannah Region, Yendi in the Northern Region, Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, and East Mamprusi in the North East Region.

This came to light when the EU and Expertise France called on the Ministry in Accra on 27^th of May 2024 on the Project execution and the intervention needed and also update the Ministry on Expertise France Groupe introductory meeting with the five beneficiary Municipal Assemblies (MAs) in April 2024.

The Project manager Jihane Rangama, expressed her gratitude to the Ministry for the support during the visit to the MAs and called for the same in the recruitment of human resources to implement the Project.

The Director in charge of Local Governance and Decentralisation at the Ministry, Mr. Samuel Seth Passah, was hopeful that the interventions in the Project for the MAs would help the poor, improve local economic development, create job opportunities for the youth, and improve the livelihood of women in the implementing Municipal Assemblies.

The Project was slated to be launched in September 2024 at Tamale in the Northern Region.

Source:    Rhodaline Abba
                  (Public Relations, MLGDRD)

A one-day training to build the capacity of staff of the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development to help them understand and appreciate the roles they play in coordinating and collating reports on the Ministry’s achievements on targets set in the performance agreement signed between the Chief Director and the Head of Service at the Office Head of Civil Service has come off.

Key results areas in the performance agreement signed by the Ministry with the OHCS were reviewed and discussed as well as the focus areas, set targets results area including Performance Reporting, Financial Management, Human Resource Management, Leadership and Management Style, Right to Information, Chief Directors role and update on the Performance Agreement reporting template were also reviewed and discussed.

The Office of the Head of Civil Service organised the training to equip the officers to improve upon their delivery to achieve the targets set in the Chief Director and Directors' Performance Agreement.

The training emphasised the importance of the performance Agreement, with discussions on the responsibilities of each directorate and their deliverables and follow-up actions needed to achieve the targets by the end of the year.

Source:    Ernest Tweneboah Koduah

                 (Public Relations, MLGDRD)

A world Bank Implementation Support Mission (ISM) field visit on the Ghana Secondary Cities Support Program (GSCSP) has ended in the Northern, Upper East and North East regions, as part of efforts to ensure a systematic assessment of progress of the GSCSP and ultimately ensure its successful implementation.

The technical mission which sought to ascertain issues emanating from the implementation of the GSCSP and advance technical recommendations to maximise project success kickstarted on Monday, May 13 and ended   on Friday, May 17, 2024.

The technical mission team comprised a delegation from the World Bank, led by Madhu Ragunath, Practice Manager of the Ghana Secondary Cities Support Programme (GSCSP), and the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development (MLGDRD) including the Programme Coordinator for GSCSP at the ministry, Raphael Edu-Gyan.

Some project sites visited on the mission include the construction of a 43% complete 2-storey 60No. Lockable stores at the Yendi Central Market, a 48% complete External Works (Paving of walkways, Car and Lorry Park at the Yendi Central Market); and the Construction of a 49% complete 0.45 Kumfong Link Road and the Provision of Pedestrian Lay-Bys in Yendi, all in the Yendi Municipality in the Northern region.

In the Sagnarigu Municipal Assembly, also in the Northern region, the team visited a project site for the construction of a 15% complete 235m x 4.5 x 1.5m Reinforced concrete Storm Drain at Kalpohini; a 50% complete 0.9km Road with Drains, Road Marking, Streetlights at Katarina off the Tamale - Kumbugu Road; a 37% complete 2-Storey 40No. Lockable Stores, 24No. Lockable Stores, 2-Storey Banking Facility and External Works (Paving of Lorry Parks) at Jisonayili; and a 38% complete 2-Storey 22No. Lockable Stores, Police Post, Crèche, Clinic, 72No. Stalls, Butchery, Rehabilitation of Washrooms, also at Jisonayili.

Project sites visited in the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly in the Upper East region, were the construction of a 55% complete 1.2km Road from Akutatingane Junction (Off the Bolgatanga-Bongo Road to Bolga ECOMOG Junction through the Bolga SOE Doctors Bungalows (with Bitumen Sealing), 0.6 U-Drains and the Provision of 40No. Metal Street Poles and 40No. LED Street Lamps, to provide security in the Bolgatanga Municipality, and a Mechanical Enclave project site.

Other project sites visited situated in the East Mamprusi Municipal Assembly in the North East Region, were the construction site of a 65% complete 1No. 2-Storey Multipurpose Block comprising of Passenger Waiting Area, Ticketing Rooms, Offices, Police Post, Fire Post, Washrooms and External Paving Works (2400 sq.m) at Nelerigu Transport Terminal, a 65% complete 2-Storey Commercial Building, Drain and Paving at Nalerigu.

The construction site of a 40% and 39% complete 2-Storey 80 No. Lockable Stores; and a 72 No. Stalls, 20-Seater Toilet Facility and External Works, respectively, were also visited in the municipality.

Following the visit to project sites in every assembly was a lengthy discussion on impeding implementation issues identified after which technical recommendations were given.

The various RCCs and municipalities appreciated the World Bank and the Ministry for the numerous interventions in the region and pledged unwavering commitment to ensuring a successful completion of every project in their jurisdiction. They were hopeful that the technical recommendations given them would go a long way to provide technical backstopping to the projects and to a greater extent scale up effective and efficient implementation.

The development objective of the Ghana Secondary Cities Support Program (GSCSP) is to improve urban management and basic urban services in participating Municipal Assemblies (MAs) and it is funded by a credit facility from the World Bank.

SOURCE: SANDRA OWUSU ASAMOAH