He said schemes including the Health Insurance, Youth Employment, Single Spine Salary, Free Senior High and Capitation Grant remained the major projects improving the economy and lives than any other.

Dr Abdul-Hamid said this at the national launch of the 2018 Town Hall Meetings (THMs) on Monday at Dzodze in the Ketu South Municipality. It was held by the Ministry of Information (MoI) and Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) in collaboration with the Information Services Department (ISD).

“Take away all these projects for which Ghana is attracting praises and nations flocking in to copy some of them from us and you will see that they are all by NPP Governments and no other,” he said. Dr. Abdul-Hamid said the current government was concerned about the ordinary citizens and that the THMs would take governance away from the televisions and radio discussions in Accra closer to the people.

“The THMs is a major part of our public engagement process to make duty bearers answerable and accountable to the people, whose participation helps in building the trust needed,” he stated. Dr Abdul-Hamid urged all to participate in the THMs to deepen democratic rule at the grassroots.

Mr. Kwesi Agyei-Boateng, Deputy Minister, MLGRD, said MLGRD was supporting the MoI in the organization of the THMs as a social accountability tool for a strong government-people linkage.  He said the THMs were in line with the objectives of forming the Government’s Decentralization Policy Framework and the National Decentralisation Action Plan (NDAP).

Mr Agyei-Boateng charged the media to raise awareness of citizens on public financial and local government accountability to make the THMs relevant and governance successful. He said government was addressing all constitutional challenges towards the election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives to further deepen local governance.  Mr. Kofi Dzamesi, Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affair, said his outfit resolved 60 of the 352 chieftaincy problems it met and was still working to ensure peace, so chiefs could play their inalienable role in the governance process.

Dr. Archibald Letsa, Volta Regional Minister, said works on the Ho Airport had been completed and that government paid all outstanding contract sums and was also building two new schools for the University of Health and Sciences (UHAS) in Ho.

Participants including chiefs asked questions on varying issues.

Present were Mr. Perry Okudzeto, a Deputy Minister of Information and District and Municipal Chief Executives.