The Minister for Local Government, Decentralization, and Rural Development, Hon. Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah, has announced that the newly released Local Economic Development document will play a crucial role in enhancing all 261 assemblies in the country.
According to the minister, the document will help to sanitize all state institutions, ensuring that they are more efficient and effective in serving the needs of their constituents.
In an interview with Rev. Nana Amakye Seih of Classic FM, Hon. Martin explained that, all the 261 MMDCEs in the country are mandated to ensure development in their districts and not to rely solely on the central government.
“We have 261 Assemblies in the country, whivh are backed by the Local Governance Act 936.
” This Act provides with respect to local government and selected matters of local development and planning in Ghana. The Act also provides for participatory governance at the local level.
” The central government is not solely responsible for providing the needs of the Assemblies, the assemblies based on the Local Governance Act 936, also have the mandate and legal backing to ensure development in their locality.” He said.
Hon. Martin continued,” we have a national economy that ensures the development of all sectors of the country’s economy and each assembly also have a local economy to promote development in their assembly. As the President with the help of his ministers are ruling the country, the various MMDCEs also have the responsibility to improve the standard of living in their assemblies.”
According to the Minister, despite the fact that the MMDCEs are tasked with ensuring development at the local level, most of them fails to do that, depriving the residents of the district development.
He however said with the introduction of the Local Economic Development, MMDCEs in the country will be held accountable should they failed to ensure development in their various districts.
“The government has come out with a policy known as the Local Economic Development (LED) is an approach towards economic development that allows and encourages local people to work together to achieve sustainable economic growth and development thereby bringing economic benefits and improved quality of life for all residents in a local municipal area.
“We have a national economy that ensures the development of all sectors of the country’s economy and each assembly also have a local economy to promote development in their assembly. As the President with the help of his ministers are ruling the country, the various MMDCEs also have the responsibility to improve the standard of living in their assemblies
“The law states that, all MMDCEs must render an account annually but they are not doing that because Local Economic Development was without a legal backing. So I have gotten the approval from Cabinet and the President to provide the legal backing that will ensure that all MMDCEs in the country will work in accordance with the Local Economic Development document.
“This document will now help to sanitize all state institutions to work together for the betterment of the various assemblies and for that matter the country at large.
“MMDCEs will now have to create employment for their people which will in turn improve the standard of living in our communities.” He disclosed
The minister emphasized that the document is a game-changer for local development in Ghana, and it will help to bridge the gap between rural and urban areas.
Local Economic Development, sanitize, public, institutions, Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah,
