STAR-Ghana Programme Manager, Mr Ibrahim-Tanko Amidu, has been selected to receive the World Bank’s Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA) Award for Leadership in Social Accountability for the African Region.

The award would be presented to Mr Ibrahim-Tanko at an official ceremony on May 12, at GPSA Global Partners Forum, in Washington DC.

A statement signed by Mr Andres Falconer (GPSA) and copied to the Ghana News Agency, indicated that the award was “a recognition of his role as a champion of social accountability as a means for a more equitably society.”

“The GPSA Award for Leadership in Social Accountability is a recognition granted by the World Bank’s Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA) to individuals in government, civil society organizations or the private sector for their outstanding contributions in the field of Social Accountability as a means to eradicate poverty and foster shared prosperity”, the statement explained.

The GPSA Leadership in Social Accountability Award is in recognition for the influence and impact of its recipients.

It said that Six Award winners were announced annually, each representing a geographic region: Africa, East Asia and Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, and South Asia.

Mr Amidu explained that the award recognized the work of the teams who had worked over the years to pilot and implement actions aimed at enabling citizens to hold governments at all levels accountable for the provision of quality public goods and services.

He said he felt challenged to build on this achievement, hoping it would inspire others to aim for excellence in everything they did.

“Ultimately the best award of course is to see that all citizens of Ghana have access to quality public services that will enable them fulfill their potentials.”

The statement indicated that Mr Amidu, with over 20 years’ experience as a development practitioner, developed and implemented developing actions at all levels of governance.

Prior to his appointment as the Team Leader of STAR-Ghana, Mr Amidu was the Country Director of VSO International, and worked with CARE International in Ghana and the Ghanaian Danish Community Programme in Northern Ghana.