Nana Kwaku Asante Nketiah, the Presiding Member (PM) of the Sunyani-West District Assembly has suggested to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) to form a task force to track and audit developmental projects being carried out by Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).

Nana Nketiah made the suggestion when the Ghana News Agency (GNA)-STAR Ghana Media Auditing Project team for the District called on him at Fiapre, near Sunyani to explain the essence of the Project.

The Project is being funded by Star-Ghana to raise grass-roots awareness and participation in local governance and uphold the civic rights and responsibilities of citizens.

It is also to widen the scope of social involvement and media tracking and auditing of development projects at Municipal and District levels through participatory democracy in an effort to tighten the link between policy formulators and implementers.

Star-Ghana is a multi-donor pooled funding Agency comprising United Kingdom Agency for International Development (UKAID), Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), European Union (EU) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Nana Nketiah stated that based on the success of the GNA-STAR Ghana Project, it would be beneficial for the MLGRD to constitute a standing Task Force to tour the country at specific periods to track and audit not only projects by the MMDAs, but all government projects with the GNA-STAR Ghana initiative as the basis.

The Presiding Member explained that the exercise would prevent wastage of the country’s financial resources, citing that there were a lot of abandoned Government projects, including some Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) projects that could be tracked and audited.

He expressed the optimism that such an exercise by the MLGRD would be laudable, but also indicated that it must be non-partisan because the resources involved belonged to the State and not a particular individual or group.

Nana Nketiah commended the GNA and STAR-Ghana for the project, particularly for the selection of Sunyani-West as one of the beneficiary districts, adding that it would make the Assembly to be alive to its responsibilities to the electorate.

GNA