Sorbelle (U/W), Sept. 7, GNA – Mr Mustapha Iddrisu, the Sissala West District Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has appealed to communities to rekindle the communal spirit to facilitate easy implementation of community initiated projects.
He said government alone could not solve all the development needs of communities, hence the need for them to initiate their own development projects to complement that of government.
Mr Iddrisu made the appeal during a social auditing engagement at Sorbelle in the Sissala West District of the Upper West Region.
The engagement formed part of the Anti-corruption, Rule of law and Accountability Programme being implemented by the Commission with funding from the European Union (EU).
He noted that with population growth, development needs of communities have increased making it practically impossible for the central government alone to provide the needs of all communities at the same time.
This called for the need for communities to initiate their own development projects to complement the efforts of government in solving their developmental challenges.
This according to Mr Iddrisu could be done through the use of local human and material resources at their disposal and building partnerships with local authorities such as the District Assembly and other development partners to execute the projects.
Madam Patience Sally Kumah, the Regional Director of NCCE, noted that the essence of social auditing was not only to hold duty bearers accountable, but also to mobilize communities to contribute their quota towards development.
It was also to promote community ownership of development projects and policies to increase awareness of the operations of the Local Government.
She explained that social auditing was a process and not an event and therefore entreated duty bearers, community leaders, including the Social Audit Committee members to show commitment and dedication to their work.
They should equally be ready to accept constructive criticism and do regular follow-ups to the Assembly and other places to ensure their objectives were achieved.
Mr Alhassan Tonsuglo, an Assistant Coordinating Director of the Sissala West District Assembly, expressed his gratitude to the NCCE for such a programme and was particularly happy to see that the community was beginning to mobilize to initiate its own development projects.
He called on other communities to emulate the example of Sorbelle community, adding that was the surest way communities could complement the effort of the Assembly in providing their needs.
Mr Tonsuglo indicated that the Assembly had pledged to provide roofing sheets and cement to the community to complete the project initiated at their health center to serve as delivery facility for the community.
He also indicated that the assembly will release GH₵1000.00 to the community to buy power for the ICT center in the community to promote learning among students.
Madam Cecelia Kakariba, the Sissala West District Director of Health Services, promised to post a midwife and additional staff to the facility as soon as it was completed.
She thanked the chief and people of the community for the hard work and commitment showed so far towards the execution of the project, and urged them not to relax in their effort in order to complete the project in good time.
At the end of the engagement, a seven (7) member Social Audit Committee was inaugurated and charged with the responsibility of liaising with authorities at the Assembly and other development partners to bring the project to fruition.
GNA