The Inter-Minis­terial Coordinat­ing Committee (IMCC) on decentralisation, led by its Executive Secretary, Dr Gameli Kewuribe Hoedoafia, on Friday held an engagement meeting with De­velopment Partners (DP) on the National Decentralisation Policy and Strategy (NDPS 2026-2030).

The meeting that was held at the Embassy of Switzerland formed part of stakeholder consultations, and provided an opportunity to take on board the perspectives of DP on the decentralisation reforms and align development assistance with national priorities towards the sector-wide approach to decentralisation.

In her welcome address, the Head of Cooperation at SECO and Deputy Head of Mission, Mrs Janine Walz, commended the government for taking action in rallying diverse stakeholders be­hind meaningful policy dialogue.

According to her, the new NDPS provided DPs and interna­tional non-government organisa­tions (INGOs) an opportunity to contribute to shaping the country’s decentralisation reforms.

“The policy being developed presently offers all DPs and INGOs the chance to shape this successor policy,” she said, urging continued collaboration to achieve a consensus-driven, reform-ori­ented, and practical framework for local governance.

Dr Gameli highlighted that the draft policy had undergone extensive consultations nation­wide, gathering input from four zonal sub-national meetings and a national stakeholder forum with Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, CSOs.

He also underscored the im­portance of DP feedback to align with the aspirations and to finalise the policy that truly reflects local needs.

Decentralisation remains a key pillar of Ghana’s governance, aimed at empowering local author­ities to deliver essential services and development closer to com­munities.

The session was attended by representatives from the follow­ing institutions; KfW Develop­ment Bank, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Deut­sche Gesellschaft für Interna­tionale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the United Na­tions Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the World Bank, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Expertise France, the United Nations De­velopment Programme (UNDP), the European Union, the Govern­ment of Canada, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, and other development partners.

The IMCC is expected to integrate Development Partners’ feedback before submitting the draft policy to Cabinet for approv­al in August.