Support inclusive community growth programmes

The youth of the country have been urged to support inclusive community growth programmes to accelerate the development of the country.

The Municipal Co-ordinating Director of the Mfantseman Municipal Assembly, Mr Justice Amoah, made the call at Saltpond in the Central Region at the weekend during a consultative meeting organised by the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC), as part of its ongoing implementation of AVID-2 Project.

The meeting brought together key stakeholders, including youth leaders from the Municipality was supported by STAR- Ghana Foundation and aimed to brief the Municipal Authorities about the project progress, evaluate community engagement, and discuss follow-up actions on critical development issues.

The AVID-2 known as Voice, Influence and Inclusive Development-2 Project, which is focused on enhancing community participation in local governance, is aimed at empowering the citizens to engage more effectively in decision-making processes that affect their lives and to hold duty bearers accountable.

Mr Amoah in his address urged the youth to collaborate with traditional authorities and ensure inclusive participation by involving the elderly in development efforts.

“Your associations should be used to drive development; support your chiefs to develop your communities,” Mr Amoah said.

Mr Amoah expressed gratitude to ISODEC for empowering communities to take the lead in their own development.

The Head of Policy and Programmes at ISODEC, Mr Bernard Anaba said AVID-2 Project used a participatory approach to collect community needs data and foster inclusive development.

He said as part of the project, community needs assessment efforts and community sensitization activities that had been carried out through the Accountability Labs (ALs) that were instituted by ISODEC in the communities within the Mfantseman Municipality.

Mr Anaba said the most pressing issue identified through community consultations was telecommunication challenges, as revealed by a pairwise ranking of community needs.

He said the Ministry of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations and the Mfantseman Municipal Assembly had pledged to work address the problem.

On the Moratorium on Lithium Mining in the Municipality, Mr Anaba said the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources had noted that the moratorium was not intended to disrupt community livelihoods.

He said the Assembly pledged to lobby Parliament to expedite action on the Lithium to relieve the community of their frustrations.

The Municipal Planning Officer, Mary Nana Adjoa Mensah, confirmed that a recent needs assessment conducted by her department echoed ISODEC’s findings.

She said that the Assembly’s Medium-Term Development Plan is still under review and may integrate some of the key concerns raised during the consultation.

“We captured some of the issues you raised today. I think we’ll review your report and identify which ones can be incorporated into our Medium-Term Development Plan for action,” she noted.

The Municipal Chief Executive, Eric Stanley Acquah, commended ISODEC for the AVID-2 Project and reaffirmed the Assembly’s commitment to supporting the project.