Community leaders of AngloGold Ashanti Iduapriem Gold Mine host communities have benefitted from a day’s sensitisation workshop on Local Governance in Tarkwa on Thursday 3rd May 2018. The training was aimed at deepening the understanding of the Local Governance Act 2016; Act 936 among the community leaders.
Resource persons for the workshop were drawn from Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Information Services Department, National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Stool Lands Administration and the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal Assembly. Speaker after speaker walked participants through the decentralization structure, the role of traditional leaders in governance, citizens’ participation in the local governance act, removing obstacles that militate against development and holding our leaders who are duty bearers accountable in the execution of projects for the communities.
Opening the workshop, the Municipal Director for Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Mr. Ernest Gyabeng explained the rationale behind the local governance Act and urged participants to channel grievances to CHRAJ rather than handling them ineffectively at individual levels.
Explaining the structure and function of the Municipal Assembly, Municipal Planning Officer Mrs. Amanda Adjei encouraged the traditional leaders to collaborate with the municipal assembly in bringing development to their various communities.
“There should be peace between chiefs and community members so that together they can champion for various developmental agenda rather than opposing each other which affect development”, she emphasised.
The visibly elated host community leaders indicated that the workshop has been useful as an opener into the entire local Governance Act 2016 which hitherto was far-fetched but now has been brought to their doorsteps.
“This opportunity given us by the mine is enormous in helping us to know our civic duties as advisory agents in our communities”. Edmund Nokoe, representing the Odikro of Mile Seven said.
The Municipal Director of NCCE, Peter Dyaka and Frederick Kaayeng of Information Services Department respectively called on the chiefs to freely access their offices whenever they are confronted with issues regarding their rights, civic duties and land administration for redress than handling them on their own. Participants formed focus groups to discuss the importance of Local Governance Act 2016.
It is expected that leaders of the mine’s host communities will be focal persons in their host communities by ensuring that the local governance structures work accordingly.
