The town hall meeting is an initiative being sponsored by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (Foundation), a German based organization, to educate people on the tenets of local governance as a means a of deepening democracy.

The project, which started this year, has covered about nine Catholic Dioceses across the country and about 90 town hall meetings have been organized.

The event, which was graced by stakeholders including, traditional leaders, Assembly members, Christian Mothers’ Associations, political functionaries, senior citizens and youth groups, was geared at educating citizens on the need to actively participate in governance to ensure transparency and accountability in the country.

Mr Benjamin Kalkum, the project Manager of Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said about nine parishes have been covered in the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Catholic Diocese and the aim was to strengthen societies and build their capacities to take responsibility of their development needs.

The vision of the foundation, he said, is to empower the people in the various communities to collaborate effectively with government and the local authorities to roll out development policies and demand accountability from the duty bearers.

Mr Pontius Pilate Baba Apaabey, the Upper East Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), said platforms such as town hall meetings are very instrumental in achieving accelerated development since they afforded political leaders the opportunity to present to stakeholders programmes and projects that are being undertaken to promote national development.

Mr Apaabey said the constitution of the country provided an opportunity for citizens to contribute their quota by voicing out their opinions on development projects and avenues like town hall meetings, elections and public hearings among others were very significant in this regard.

The Regional Director expressed concern that assembly members often failed to avail themselves to be assessed by members of their respective communities after elections adding that this did not promote inclusive governance.

He urged the assembly members to take advantage of opportunities such as festivals, associations meetings, town council meetings and others to reach out to the people.

Mr Apaabey urged the constituents to use the opportunity to deliberate on issues that would inure to the benefit of the communities and enhance sustainable development.

Dr Christopher Boatbil, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Talensi, commended the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Catholic Church for their efforts at deepening democracy, transparent and accountable governance at the local level, especially in the Talensi District.

He said the Assembly would work hard to ensure that town hall meetings and other public engagement opportunities were mainstreamed into their development plans and made a priority to promote public participation.