ACCRA, Ghana, 16th September: President John Dramani Mahama has urged traditional rulers across the Ahafo Region to take a more active interest in the development of their respective districts.
He said chiefs must work closely with District Chief Executives (DCEs) to ensure that resources transferred to the districts are properly utilised for development.
President Mahama made the call when the Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs paid a courtesy call on him at the Presidency.
The President said government had taken steps to strengthen the financial capacity of District Assemblies by ensuring that a larger proportion of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) is transferred directly to the districts.
According to him, the policy has improved the financing of District Assemblies, while the relevant funds are now being released promptly every quarter.
President Mahama therefore urged traditional rulers to partner DCEs to ensure that the resources are directed towards projects and programmes that would benefit local communities.
He also announced that government is constructing one 24-hour market in each of Ghana’s 261 districts.
He explained that markets are important economic infrastructure because they stimulate economic activity and provide farmers with outlets to sell their produce.
After completing the district-level markets, he said government would consider larger communities with economically viable traditional markets.
The President also linked the development agenda to the government’s broader decentralisation reforms.
He said traditional rulers formed an important part of Ghana’s decentralised governance structure and noted that the Constitutional Review Implementation Committee had been established to examine proposed constitutional amendments.
President Mahama said some recommendations on decentralisation and local government sought to increase the role of traditional rulers in the decentralised local government system.
He expressed the expectation that chiefs and traditional rulers would have more active participation in District Assemblies than they had in the past.
Beyond local government, President Mahama said government is also fast-tracking development in the six newly created regions, including Ahafo.
He explained that the new regions lacked several amenities available in older regions and therefore required deliberate interventions to enable them to catch up.
He said development projects has consequently been deliberately skewed in favour of the newly created regions.
President Mahama also assured the chiefs that several roads in Ahafo had been captured under the government’s Big Push programme, with additional roads expected to feature in the second phase.
He thanked the traditional authorities for their partnership and said government would continue to rely on them in the development and governance of the country.
Story by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh(#RomeoWrites✍️)/ Presidential Affairs Correspondent | Ghana 🇬🇭