Women urged to participate in Local Governance

Women urged to participate in Local Governance
Daily Graphic, Tuesday, March 25, 2008. Page 11 (Women’s World)
Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Takoradi

The Co-ordinator of Local Governance for German Development Services, (DED), Ms Annette Turman, has urged queens and other female traditional leaders to collaborate with district assembly members to ensure the rapid development of their respective communities.

She said queens must work together with assembly members to present a united front and develop relevant programmes and projects to meets the needs and aspirations of the people. “Today, women across the country are articulating the needs of their people and making strides to ensure that their interests and aspirations are met,” said Ms Turman.

She was speaking at a two-day workshop for queens drawn from all parts of the Western region, which had the theme, “Increasing Women’s Participation in Local Governance,” and was sponsored by DED, DANIDA, the Western Regional Coordinating Council, as well as the Ministry of Local Government an Rural Development. She said, since they were an embodiment of motherhood, queens needed to play crucial roles in decision-making at the local level to promote the growth and development of women, children and vulnerable groups in the communities.

Ms Turman said there was no doubt that women, especially traditional rules, had a vital role to play in the country’s socio-economic development, as well as the transformation of the rural economy. She said since queens were leaders, there was the need to educated and empower them with the needed skills to enable them reach out to their people and discharge their responsibilities effectively.

Ms Turman explained that for development to be made more relevant to the people, the grass roots [approach] should be included in the planning and implementation processes so that they could make the necessary input. She urged the participants to educate their people in their socio-economic and political rights. Ms Turman said working together with the local government administrators would not only ensure collective decision-making but also ensure probity and accountability.

The Western Regional Economic Planner, Mrs Olivia Opoku-Adoma, said apart from being partners in development, the queens also had a significant roles to play in inculcating moral values in the youth and expressed the hope that the workshop would provide the participants with knowledge that would benefit their communities. Mrs Opoku-Adoma, who is also the Regional Focal Person on HIV/AIDS, said the smooth implementation of projects greatly depended on how well the grass roots appreciated such programmes.