The Volta Regional Coordinating Council has been adjudged 2020 best performing Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) in the country per the Local Government Service Performance Contract Assessment (PCA).

Nkoranza North District Assembly was adjudged the best performing District Assembly among the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) category at the event.

The event was to recognise RCCs and MMDAs that had excelled in the year under review in administration, human resource management, financial management and service delivery.

Among the RCC's, three of them were rewarded with the Volta Region being the first, followed by Savannah Region and Bono East Region, while for the MMDAs, 10 of them were awarded, with the Nkoranza North District being the first, followed by Ga West Municipal, Afigya Kwabre North District, Tema West Municipal and Kwahu West Municipal.

The rest were: La Dadekotopon, Birim Central, Ablekuma West Municipal Assemblies, Twifu Ati Morkwa and Kasena Nankana West District Assemblies, in that order.

All award winners received citations and plaques as well as motorbikes, computers, scanners and printers to enhance their work at the local level.

Mr Daniel Botwe, Minister of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, said the RCCs and MMDAs were key partners in contributing to the achievement of the Government's decentralisation agenda at the local level.

He said it, therefore, behoved them as key state actors at the Local Government level to discharge their duties, focusing on improved service delivery.

The sector Minister urged them to educate the public on the functions and activities of the District Assemblies as mandated under Section 26 of the Local Governance Act as well as the responsibilities of citizens to promote transparency, probity and accountability in the dealings of the District Assemblies.

Dr Nana Ato Arthur, Head of the Local Government Service, said the PMS, developed in 2015 based on agreed Service Delivery Standards (SDS), was a systematic process for improving performance by developing the individual performance of staff and teams to enhance productivity, develop competencies, increase job satisfaction and achieve the full potential of all staff in the Service.

He said the 2020 assessment was by far, the best outcome of the PCA, not in terms of absolute scores but about the realistic performance of the RCCs and MMDAs.

"RCCs and MMDAs alike must immediately take off and get to work right after the contracts are signed with the clearly defined deliverables. Do not wait until there is an impending assessment before trying to put your houses in order. It will not auger well with you and the outcomes of such adhoc preparations do not always end well."

He said the LGS was poised to support Government's efforts to develop a robust local governance system and as such was endeavouring to strengthen local governance institutions and structures; reviewing systems; procedures; as well as processes and building capacities in support of improved service delivery at the sub-national levels.

Dr, Arthur congratulated the award winners and advised RCC's and MMDA's that were not meeting expectations to sit up, saying, a more severe punishment would be meted out to them for performing below average.

Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, Volta Regional Minister, who spoke on behalf of the Volta Regional Coordinating Council, commended the Local Government Service for the recognition.

He said the Region would continue to put in the best and charged others to respond to the needs of their people to earn their trust and confidence.