Take keen interest in local governance - Dr Osae
The Dean of Studies and Research at the Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS), Dr Eric Oduro Osae, has charged journalists to take a keen interest in local governance reporting in order for the citizenry to understand and appreciate the role of metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) in the socio-economic development of the country.
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He said it was incumbent on the media to liaise with the assemblies in order to be well informed, so that they could educate the public to honour their responsibilities, such as paying their taxes to help build society.
Speaking at the opening session of a two-day media sensitisation workshop organised by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) in Kumasi, Dr Osae urged the public to know the laws, adding that ignorance of the law was no excuse.
He said in order to deepen democracy, the media needed to give prominence to lesser units on the local government structure, such as the urban, town, area and zonal councils, as well as the unit committees, adding that that would enable the people to own the structures and contribute their quota effectively.
According him, increasing public participation would make it easier for local people to pay their taxes promptly.
New Local Government Act, 2016
He said it was for that reason that the new Local Government Act, 2016, had been regularised to replace Act 462.
The new act, he said, had now widened its membership base to include organisations such as the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the Information Services Department (ISD) and other civil service organisations at the district level.
That, Dr Osae said, was a one-stop-shop approach to addressing all bottlenecks in the local government system.
Minister
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr John Alexander Ackon, lauded the media for their key role in spearheading the growth of the country and urged them to always report on bread-and-butter issues.
Mr Ackon, who is also the acting Chief Executive of the KMA, assured journalists and residents of the Kumasi metropolis that the doors of the KMA were always opened for accountability, suggestions and criticisms as far as the development of the metropolis was concerned.
