Conference of Regional Ministers ends in Wa
The Third Conference of Regional Ministers ended in Wa in the Upper West Region (UWR) over the weekend with a call on the government to strengthen and adequately resource the Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs) to push the decentralisation process forward.
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The regional ministers acknowledged their roles as very critical to the decentralisation process and local government reforms.
In a communiqué issued after a five-day group discussion and read by the Upper West Regional Minister, Alhaji Amin Amidu Sulemana, the regional ministers resolved to deepen the local administrative processes to ensure good governance in the country.
Game change
The conference was held on the theme, "Game Change for the Economy: The Role of the Regional Level of Governance".
The conference of regional ministers paid glowing tribute to the President, Mr John Dramani Mahama for his brilliant speech at the 69th United Nations General Assembly meeting which it said, had pushed Africa onto a higher pedestal. They said the President’s performance showed that he befitted his status as Chairman of the Economic ommunity of West African States (ECOWAS), having exhibited exemplary leadership.
The conference fully supported the President’s decision to seek technical and financial support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help address the economic challenges the country was facing.
District level election
The conference also took a decision on the upcoming district level election, saying it would "work in collaboration with other relevant stakeholders to ensure that a congenial atmosphere existed for the election".
The conference said it would support efforts being made to identify additional funding for the RCCs and pledged its support for measures that had been put in place to forestall the occurrence of Ebola and other communicable diseases in the country.
More action
The regional ministers further pledged to address the menace of illegal mining. They, however called for the law on the manufacture and possession of small arms in the country to be enforced.
The meeting also asked that steps be taken to complete work on the secretariat for the Upper West Region House of Chiefs which had been suspended for years.
It expressed its gratitude to the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Julius Debrah, for supporting the conference and also expressed their appreciation to the chiefs and people of the Upper West Region for their warm reception and hospitality.
The next conference of regional ministers will take place in March, next year in Cape Coast in the Central Region.
