Youth and Women Empowerment (YOWE), a non-governmental organisation, has launched its Democratic Governance Project aimed at ensuring an increased participation of traditional authorities, women and vulnerable groups in governance at the local level.
Funded by the European Union, DANIDA, UKAID and USAID through STAR-Ghana, the project seeks to increase by 20 per cent the number of representatives of minority groups appointed to the Yilo and the Lower Manya Krobo Municipal assemblies, as well as the Upper Manya Krobo District Assembly.
Through the project, YOWE aims to set out and institutionalise modalities for collaboration and effective consultation with traditional authorities and other interest groups in appointing the 30 per cent membership to the assemblies and other sub-district structures. It also seeks to encourage women to contest local level elections and avail themselves to be appointed as assembly members.
Speaking at the programme at Odumase-Krobo recently, the Programmes Co-ordinator of YOWE, Mr Emmanuel Nuetey Siakor, said the project was born out of findings from their 2012 election monitoring and sensitisation programme, which revealed a woefully low level of involvement of traditional authorities and vulnerable groups in local decision making in the municipalities and districts.
He indicated that “Ghana has a range of laws and policies that seek to promote inclusiveness in governance at every level of governance such as the 1992 Constitution, Local Government Act of 1993 (Act 462) and the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda (GSGDA) 2010-2013".
Mr Siakor, however, noted that “most metropolitan, municipal and District assemblies (MMDAs) do not have any institutionalised platforms or established working relationships with these traditional authorities (queen mothers, chiefs), minority groups such as persons with disabilities (PWDs) and market women, as a means of promoting participatory local governance. This programme will therefore give practical effect to the concept of local governance and the range of laws and policies that seek to bring governance to the people at the grass roots”.
He said his organisation would carry out field research in the MDAs to establish the baseline before embarking on a scoping visit to the three target project areas (Yilo, Upper and Lower Manya Krobo) to officially inform the MDAs about the commencement of the project and also to obtain buy-in from relevant institutions and actors in the local governance circle.
Giving an overview of YOWE operation, Mrs Mercy Fiorgbor, the Board Chairperson of the organisation, said “As a local based NGO, YOWE has been operating for the past 13 years with dedication towards promoting the cause of women, the youth and all other disadvantaged groups and communities in the Krobo area, particularly in areas such as advocacy, governance, health, education, agriculture and enterprise development.
