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The Dean of Graduate Studies and Research at the Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS), Dr Eric Oduro Osae, has urged Parliament to pass the Consolidated Local Government Bill into law before the year ends.
 
The bill, which is expected to repeal the Local Government Act 462 when passed into law, would bring all the various pieces of legislation on the local government system under one law.

Dr Osae told the Daily Graphic at a day’s orientation and training session for assembly officials from the La Nkwantanang Madina Municipal Assembly under the Action Voices programme in Accra, that the new bill would help remove some of the contradictions in the present local government legislation.

“The new law among other things is to bring the common fund law and local government service law under one umbrella in order to help remove the contradictions in some of the local government legislation,” he said.

 African type of democracy

He underscored the need for the country to adopt what he described as an ‘African type of democracy’ instead of copying blindly from the western world which had over the years hindered the country’s development.

Mr Osae said one of the best ways to promote democracy and good governance was the involvement of citizens in development planning which begins with spatial planning.

“Governance is good when a state allocates and manages resources in ways that respond to collective problems and when it efficiently provides public goods and services of sufficient quality to its citizens,” he noted.

Citizen participation 

Dr Osae said citizens’ participation in governance systems promotes good governance, transparency and reduces corruption.

“It also makes government visible to citizens and reduces political alienation of citizens, as well as harnesses the use of indigenous knowledge and skills in development,” he added.

The dean said when Ghanaians take active part in democracy, it would enhance a measurement of equity and efficiency in service delivery and availability of local information for effective policy formulation.

Action Voices

The Executive Director of Action Voices, Mr Lord Fordjour, said his organisation aimed to work to ensure that the voice of citizens was heard and considered in decision making.