The Biakoye District Assembly (BDA), in the Oti Region, has held its maiden programme dubbed “Accounting to the People durbar” where the District Chief Executive (DCE) accounted to the people her one year stewardship, as well as the challenges that confronted the Assembly in carrying out its development mandate.
The programme, which was held last week Friday at Worawora, was on the theme: “Accounting to the People, The Hallmark of Good Governance”, and was attended by key stakeholders including chiefs, civil society groups and citizens of the District.
The Assembly had earlier organised a number of activities in the various communities to create awareness about the Accounting to the People durbar, which included general health screening exercise, breast cancer screening, clean-up exercises and football games.
The Oti Regional Minister, Dr Johua Makubu, in a speech read for him, underscored the importance of upholding the democratic values and participatory democracy in local government administration, and said it would promote transparency and accountability.
Dr Makubu observed that the philosophy behind accounting to the people, was to bring the residents in the area closer to the Assembly for the DCE to provide them with adequate information, which would enable them to understand the efforts being made at the Assembly level, to encourage them to contribute meaningfully towards development.
The minister stressed that the principle of accounting to the people would not only deepen local governance, but also give meaning to participatory governance, where citizens would freely express their views on development activities without difficulty.
Dr Makubu said building citizens’ capacity was important in ensuring effective participation in the decision- making process, as they would understand how public funds such as taxes collected from them were used.
The Biakoye DCE, Mrs Millicent Kabuki Carboo, stressed the need for stakeholders in the district to play active roles in the activities of the Assembly, and demand accountability from the DCE at all times because it was their right.
This, the DCE said was in line with Article 42 of the Local Government Act, Act 936 of 2016 as amended by Act 940, which stated that “the District Assembly shall facilitate the establishment of a structure for stakeholders participation that may include town hall meetings and other avenues for participation of the people,” she stressed.
Mrs Carboo had assured the people of her willingness to be accountable to them, and urged them to offer constructive criticism that would help promote rapid development of the area, saying one year in office was not a smooth journey.
The Nkosohene of Worawora Traditional Area, Nana Owusu Afari, said the Accounting to the people programme was the first of its kind in the district, and commended the DCE for making herself available to the people and accountable to them, which he said was a difficult task for many leaders but she had set a record.