By Gilbert Azeem Tiroog
Bolgatanga, Jan 31, GNA – The Rural Initiatives for Self-Empowerment-Ghana (RISE-Ghana), a local human rights and sustainable development non-governmental organisation (NGO), has inaugurated an intersectoral committee to champion post-election accountability and improved service delivery in the Upper East Region.
The 15-member committee, including individuals from civil society organisations, media, youth, and excluded groups, drawn from the Bolgatanga central, Nabdam, and Bongo constituencies, are to use party manifestos as the entry point to demand accountability and quality of services.
The inauguration of the committee follows a series of dialogues and debates organised by RISE-Ghana among parliamentary candidates in the various constituencies in the lead-up to the 2024 general elections, where various promises were made by the parliamentary candidates.
It formed part of an activity, dubbed “Inter-sectoral Mechanism for Promoting Post-Election Party Manifesto and Government Accountability, Inclusive Elections, and Quality Service Delivery Formed and Institutionalised,” being led by STAR-Ghana under its Democracy and Inclusive Project.
The project is being funded by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom.
Mr Ahmed Awal Kariama, Executive Director of RISE-Ghana, addressing members of the committee, noted that promises made by political parties were a social contract, and it was important the committee tracked the various promises and demand accountability.
He emphasised that the work of the committee would be centred at the local level to track various promises made by the elected Members of Parliament and provide constructive feedback to them and demand accountability on what they promised.
Professor David Millar, President of the Millar Institute for Transdisciplinary and Development Studies (MITDS) while addressing the committee members on strategies they could employ to succeed said it was important that citizens participated in the development process and the initiative was in the right direction to hold leaders responsible for their pronouncements.
He noted that political parties may not be able to fulfil all promises made and urged the committee members to consider the critical issues in their constituencies that were promised by the elected leaders of the day and demand accountability.
GNA