President of the Chamber for Local Governance (CHALOG), Richard Fiadomor, has described political interference as the greatest obstacle to effective local governance in Ghana, warning that excessive central control continues to weaken decentralisation efforts.
According to him, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies are being denied the autonomy required to address the development needs of their communities despite receiving allocations through the District Assemblies Common Fund.
Speaking on Citi FM on Saturday, May 2, Mr Fiadomor argued that decisions on the use of resources are too often directed from Accra rather than being handled at the local level.
He cited examples where contracts for projects such as school construction and furniture procurement are awarded centrally instead of allowing district assemblies to engage contractors within their own jurisdictions.
“We have a situation whereby somebody sits in Accra and wants to remote-control everything. When some of these things happen, it defeats the very purpose of decentralisation. That is the challenge we have — political interference,” he stated.
Mr Fiadomor further observed that although assembly members continue to play an important role in representing their electoral areas, inadequate engagement between some assemblies and local communities has affected public trust in the system.
He stressed that granting assemblies greater operational independence and addressing structural weaknesses would be essential to improving grassroots development and service delivery across the country.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com