Care International to assess local govt structures
Care International, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has piloted a new evaluation process aimed at assessing the performance of local government structures in order to improve transparency and accountability.
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The initiative, which was funded from CARE UK’s Halcrow investment fund, is expected to contribute to improve the way local government organisations formulate and measure the outcome of development interventions in the country.
The evaluation process is anticipated to make available to local communities relevant information that would strengthen their ability to monitor or question infrastructural projects undertaken by district assemblies.
At a press briefing held in Accra Sunday, the Country Director of Care International Ghana, Mr Clement Tandor, said the initiative would lead to improved planning and implementation of the Ghana Strengthening Accountability Mechanism (GSAM) projects in various districts.
According to him, the “implementation of the evaluation mechanism will make metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) more responsive and accountable to the people.”
Contribution Tracing
Mr Tandor said the initiative would employ a new methodology of evaluation known as Contribution Tracing, which would be used to conduct an evaluation of the GSAM projects currently ongoing in various districts.
He said the high number of uncompleted projects in the country had come about because of inadequate information during implementation. He said the new initiative would contribute to a more reliable way of handling projects.
“Unavailability and, in some cases, inaccessibility of information regarding infrastructure projects resulted in their poor execution,” he said.
Project line
For his part, the Managing Director (MD) for Pamoja Evaluation Services, Mr Gavin Stedman-Bryce, said his company was supportive of the initiative because it was in line with its organisational plans directed at contributing to societal development.
He said the initiative would advance governance at the local level and improve aspects of decision taking that went to improve the living conditions of the people in a community or district.
Mr Stedman-Bryce said contribution tracing made way for results to be used in a targeted way, rather than collecting lots of unnecessary data.
“The method makes sure that you only go after the most important data and not unnecessary information,” he said.
The Governor Advisor for Care International, Mr Tom Aston, said the initiative would support citizens to monitor capital investment projects and enable them to ask questions of public authorities regarding infrastructure projects in their areas.
“We are trying to find ways to show how things happen and how citizens can influence the processes,” he said.
He added that it was a good case to show how using contribution tracing in Ghana could depict how planning in the districts was working.