Involve marginalized in decision-making – CARE
A gender activist has appealed to the government to involve the marginalized and vulnerable persons in its decision making process to ensure effective decentralization and enhanced democratic governance and economic growth.
Miss Ayishetu Mikey Iddrisu, Gender and Diversity Advisor of CARE International, a non-governmental organization, said because the poor and the marginalized groups were not always involved in government’s decision-making process that affected them, it has worsened their poverty situations.
Miss Iddrisu made the call in Tamale on Wednesday during a workshop on draft legislation instrument organized by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) and CARE International.
The meeting was aimed at fine-tuning the draft legislation being prepared by the government to give legal backing for NDPC to carry out sanctions against any individual and institution that violated its orders.
Miss Iddrisu said due to the non-involvement of the poor in decision-making, citizens in general including the poor lacked the confidence and opportunities to express their grievances and exercise their civic rights.
Mr. P. V. Obeng, Chairman of the NDPC in a speech read on his behalf, said the commission in order to deliver effectively on its mandate and to effectively implement decentralization in Ghana, decided to take steps to have the requisite Legislative Instruments drafted and enacted.
Mr. Obeng said the draft legislation would take due cognizance of the constitutional, national, legal, political, spatial and the socio-economic context within which plans were prepared and implemented.
Alhaji Abdul Basit Fuseini, Deputy Northern Regional Minister, said the NDPC had over the years lived up to expectation by timely issuance of policies and guidelines to regulate the decentralized planning system.
He gave the assurance that the government would leave no stone unturned to support the NDPC to contribute its quota to the development of the country, stressing that the bottom-up concept would be used by government to ensure equitable development.
Source: GNA