The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) has organised a three-day workshop for District Oversight Committee (DOCs) at Cape Coast aimed at promoting good governance at the grassroots levels.

The workshop was also aimed at enhancing the level of professionalism and efficiency of the DOCs and to build up their involvement in the APRM process to help strengthen democracy in their respective areas.

The participants were selected from civil society groups from Effutu, Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem Municipalities, Jomoro and Ahanta West Districts.

The workshop was organized by the APRM, Hanns Seidel Foundation, a German- based NGO and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE).

Dr. Mark Nii Lamptey, lead facilitator of the workshop, said the DOCs were formed to oversee the governance processes at the district levels to help propagate the objectives of APRM at the grassroots.

The DOCs, he said, were also tasked with deepening the communities’ understanding of governance issues by organizing social dialogues for the citizens, local government officials, and the service providers of APRM.

They were also to assist the Governing Council of APRM in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the APRM National Programme of Action.

Ms. Christiana Roth, Programme Officer of Hanns Seidel Foundation, said the aims and objectives of the NGO were similar to that of the APRM, hence their partnership to implement the project in five West Africa countries.

The other countries are Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo and Benin.

She, therefore, encouraged the participants to take the workshop seriously and work to promote good governance through the increased applicability and effectiveness of the APRM process.