The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Local Chapter of Transparency International, has built the capacities of selected stakeholders with mechanisms to demand accountability at the district level.

The stakeholders' forum, dubbed, "Increasing citizens' power to demand accountability", was organised by the GII in collaboration with the Ghana Developing Communities Association (GDCA), in Tamale.

It was meant to equip participants with ways through which they could contribute to reducing corruption to promote good governance at the local level.

It brought together representatives from Civil Society Organizations, traditional and religious authorities, Assembly Members, Persons with Disabilities, youth groups among others, in the Northern Region.

The forum was organized with funding support from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), through the Empowerment for Life (E4L) Programme of the GDCA.

Mrs Mary Awelana Addah, Programmes Manager at GII, who made a presentation on the topic: "Promoting transparency, accountability and participation in local governance", said exposing persons who engaged in corrupt practices and holding them to account, demanded citizens' understanding of how corruption worked.

She took participants through some of the legal frameworks that promote accountability at the local government level, including the Local Government Act, 2016 (Act 936), National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP), Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), and the Whistleblower Act 720.

Mrs Addah noted that citizens had key roles to play to help win the fight against corruption and its related practices at district levels.

She encouraged individuals to report any act of corruption they came across to the appropriate institutions for immediate actions against culprits to help promote social accountability and development in their communities.

Mr Philip Gmabi, Technical Advisor at GDCA, called on Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to step up efforts to ensure citizens were involved in decision-making process on issues that affected their wellbeing, to help improve on transparency and participation at the local level.

He further encouraged citizens to demand accountability on projects being implemented with funding from MMDAs' Internally Generated Funds (IGF) to as a way of reducing acts of corruption in the various Assemblies.

Some of the participants at the forum urged stakeholders to deepen the sensitization on the need for members of the public to join forces to initiate measures that would help reduce corruption and promote good governance in the country.