to involve the ordinary citizens in budget preparation

Kumasi (A/R), March 20, GNA - Members of the Governance Issues Forum Network (GIFNET) have challenged the perception of District Assemblies that people in the rural communities lack the capacity to make effective inputs into the preparation of the assemblies' development budgets.

They argued that many rural communities in the country had retired senior public servants, teachers, religious leaders and well informed traditional rulers who know what their communities need from the assemblies to fast-track the development of their communities. They therefore urged the assemblies to collaborate with GIFNET and other organizations that could create the platform for them to have effective interaction with the local communities in the preparation of their annual budgets to enable them to make inputs into the budget. This came up during a one-day stakeholders' meeting in Kumasi between selected members of GIFNET from seven districts in the country and officials of the District Assemblies with their District Chief Executives.

The GIFNET is a forum supported by the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG) that creates a platform for ordinary people to participate in public decision-making and development at the local and national levels. Mr B. L. Koomson, District Chief Executive for Ajumako-Enyan-Assiam, said the current challenge facing District Assemblies was how to disburse the two per cent of the District Assemblies Common Fund to physically challenged persons. He explained that while the funds were meant to finance projects initiated by the physically challenged, most physically challenged groups go to the assemblies in batches expecting the money to be given to them.

Dr Emmanuel Akwetey, Executive Director of IDEG, urged members of GIFNET to help the country to have a limitation to political activities after elections. He explained that the current situation where political activities were allowed to continue after elections had the tendency to make the ruling government concentrate on preparations for the next elections instead of concentrating on the development of the country. 20 March 10