A four-day workshop to build the capacity of national and district level stakeholders, in promoting public participation in local governance using effective social accountability tools opened in Accra on Monday.
The workshop, which is the last in the series was organised by the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) in collaboration with the Institute of Local Government Studies.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Mr Maxwell Agyei Ashon, Research Officer of CDD-Ghana, said a study conducted by the think-tank last year revealed that knowledge about development at the district assemblies was weak amongst the citizenry.
Mr Ashon said sensitising, imparting knowledge, building capacities and cultivating attitudes of local leadership and citizens are goals of the workshop.
�Encouraging citizens' participation in local governance through active engagement with structures of local governance, and also strengthening the credibility of local authorities to promote local government accountability is another objective of the workshop,� he said.
The workshop was also aimed at augmenting citizens� understanding and participation in the governance process in their communities as well as assisting media practitioners in increasing their understanding and knowledge in local governance.
He called for media advocacy to help make leaders accountable to the citizens.
Dr Patrick Osei-Kufour, Lecturer at University of Cape Coast, called on district assemblies to uphold social accountability as it ensures empowerment, effectiveness and good governance.
The workshop is being funded by the European Union under the support for Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in Development Actions in Ghana, which seeks to assess the extent to which citizens participate and engage with the current local governance system and structures.
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