Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, Daniel Botwe, has reserved special praise for the Administrator of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), Mrs Irene Addo Lartey, for her special interest and effort in seeing to the completion of an office block for the Local Government Service.

Provision of the edifice, he said, is in line with Government’s agenda to deepen decentralization in response to Article 20 of the Constitution.

The Service, he said, is being equipped with the necessary facilities to enable it to accomplish its obligations.

These remarks were contained in a solidarity message delivered on behalf of the Minister at the commissioning of the new office block for the Office of the Head of the Local Government Service (OHLGS) on Wednesday 5th April 2023.

Hon. Dan Botwe disclosed that since the establishment of the Local Government Service, one of its major challenges has been inadequate office accommodation.

The Management and staff of the Office of the Head of the Local Government Service, he said, have had to operate from limited office accommodation over the years.

He said, "It, therefore, comes as a relief to commission this ultramodern office facility, which is a result of the collaboration of the Ministry, the Office of the District Assembly Common Fund and the Office of the Head of the Local Government Service."

"I commend, the Administrator, Mrs Irene Addo Lartey for her special interest and effort in seeing to the completion of this edifice."

He urged the Head of Service, his Management and his staff to put to good use the support government has provided by constructing the Office Block.

He assured provision of the office accommodation should enable the Head of Service to deploy the appropriate human resource to perform to its maximum capacity.

He also urged the staff of the Service to utilize the facility proficiently and to ensure efficient and effective service delivery.

He expressed hope the Office Block will position the OHLGS to collaborate effectively with the Ministry to drive the decentralization Agenda.

In his welcome address, the Head of the LGS, Ing. Dr Nana Ato Arthur disclosed that one of the challenges the Service has had to deal with for the past years was limited space for staff to engage in their official business.

He said a cursory walk through some of the offices of the OHLGS showed a picture of overcrowding and congestion, which had an adverse effect on the productivity of staff and did not also auger well for an institution that had the mandate of administrative decentralization in the country.

According to him, although the need for additional office space was long overdue, the completion of the block brings great relief to him as Head and the OHLGS as a whole.

"This new office block is a five-storey building with features that have been designed to include interactive spaces for the comfort of staff and visitors alike."

"And it will surprise you to know that with the hard work of the Contractor, this project was completed within 20 months at a cost of GH¢30 million," he disclosed.

Dr Ato Arthur thanked the government, the Minister, the DACF Administrator, the Contractor, the Consultant and all who worked tirelessly towards the successful execution of the project.