Tema: The National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG), in collaboration with the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA), has organised a training workshop to equip stakeholders with knowledge and strategies for inclusive service delivery through popular participation.
According to Ghana News Agency, the one-day workshop, held in partnership with the Municipal Innovations-Women in Local Leadership (PMI-WILL) project at the TMA Hall, brought together participants from diverse backgrounds. These included representatives of non-governmental organizations, fisherfolks, women’s groups, persons with disabilities, youth associations, media, and more. The six-year project, which commenced in 2021, is funded by Global Affairs, Canada through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and is implemented in Ghana with the collaboration of NALAG.
The project aims to enhance participants’ capacity to effectively engage in local governance and improve service delivery at the community level. Mr. Yao Semorde, a Business and Organization Development Consultant, explained the concept of inclusive service delivery strategies. He described them as approaches ensuring public services meet the needs of all citizens, including marginalized groups, by involving every segment of society in the planning, execution, and monitoring of services such as education, sanitation, health, and infrastructure.
During the workshop, Mr. Semorde, who served as a facilitator, outlined the training objectives. These included enhancing stakeholders’ understanding of inclusive governance, strengthening community engagement in decision-making processes, and encouraging local authorities to adopt people-centred approaches to service provision. He emphasized that inclusive service delivery fosters improved trust between citizens and local authorities, ensures transparency, promotes accountability, and enhances service quality and sustainability.
A significant focus of the workshop was on popular participation, defined by the facilitator as the active involvement of citizens in governance and development processes. Participation can take various forms, such as attending town hall meetings, contributing ideas during community forums, serving on local committees, or providing feedback on services.
Mr. Semorde elaborated on the protocols of standard inclusive service delivery, which include popular participation, client-focused strategies, accountability, and professionalism. He noted that strategies for inclusive service delivery are gender-sensitive budgeting, establishment of monitoring committees, and creation of disability access points, among others.
Mr. Emmanuel Abbey, the National Project Coordinator for PMI-WILL, stated that the project is designed to empower stakeholders, especially women, by providing them with the knowledge necessary to actively participate in local governance processes. He highlighted that a primary objective of the initiative is to foster inclusive decision-making by ensuring that community members have a voice in matters affecting their lives.
Mr. Abbey also revealed that research was conducted to investigate the low participation of women in local-level elections. The findings indicated that societal stereotypes discouraging women from pursuing leadership roles are a major barrier. The project promotes gender inclusiveness by fostering equal opportunities for both men and women, with a particular focus on empowering women to assume leadership roles.
Nana John Owu, the Tema Metropolitan Coordinating Director, urged the public to demand accountability from authorities, encouraging them to ‘ask questions, demand accountability, transparency, and be on us to deliver.’
The event concluded with group work and presentations, where stakeholders were divided into two groups. They were tasked with identifying key marginalized groups in society, analyzing current engagement levels, and designing interventions to improve inclusion in service planning.