Opinions of Wednesday, 17 December 2008

Columnist: Bolus, mercy Adede

Is Ghana securing a future for its people?

All our local communities have a duty to work with partner’s organisations to produce a community strategy. This is happening in much developed country why can’t Ghana adopt such a strategy too.

Such an approach would aim to provide not a comprehensive list of the different activities but also aim at improving our various districts.

This strategy should ideally aim at the following:

• To inform people about there communities challenges, opportunities, and priorities.

• Provide a clear direction to influence policy development in all partner organisations.

• Integrate existing strategies and try and provide a framework for delivering improvement in each district.

Ghana badly needs sort of a Community Strategy a Sustainable Community Strategy as health commissioners must aim in improving all the Zongo’s like areas along built up areas. We need to make these areas ghetos within Ghana into a place where people of any age would love to live and work. We need to manage our social, economic and environment resources so as to meet our short-term needs and we don’t compromise the quality of life of future generation.

I believe this time round any Government that takes power should ensure that each community have a Local Strategy Partnership which would set up strategic objectives for example in these key drivers.

• Developing a Prosperous economy with our Black gold

Provide business s growth and development thus supporting regeneration and well paid employments. This would secure high quality to all groups and improve the district ‘s economic infrastructure.

• Promote Community safety through various initiatives

Reduce law and order and engage the local people in developing of crime solutions in their own neighbourhood.

• Providing Homes for the Future

Increase adequate housing schemes and affordable homes in a range of sustainable locations.

• Maintaining a clean and sustainable environment

Ensure good drinking water; better management of land, air soil and maintaining our cultural heritage at the same time. Reward a clean town and villages annually and encourage towns and villages to compete among themselves to retain this award and this pride.

• Improve health and wellbeing

We need to reduce inequalities and ensure policy that rules out child labour, child protection issues. Encourage creativity throughout festivals and benefits of traditional dancing in the various regions. This is a healthy way to sharing our culture and heritage to the wider communities.

• Raising Educational Achievement

Ensure that the best opportunities do exist in education, ICT, learning and training should be available for everyone until 18 yr. of age. This would increase aspiration and standard in all age groups.

• Promoting Inclusive Communities No one must disadvantage in the new Ghana and we need to ensure equal access for all members of any community to services and opportunities.

• Develop an effective transport system

We need a safe and effective transport system to reduce the number of road traffic accidents. Promote more road safety measures every year to reduce the RTA.

Police service men and women would need to be well paid that they would think twice of accepting bribes to losing their well-paid jobs.

We need dwelivery mechanism with credibilty would have nicrease an effective outcomes their plans. The mechanism would be the Local Starategy Partnerships plans , planning and decisions . area and action plan, inward investment , neighbourhood plans , local agreement , publis , lands and building. This therefore give a an integrated invlovement of everyone that matters to cause this transformation of Ghana.