Mr Ernest Amedior, Hohoe Municipal Director, National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has called on communities to develop strategies to facilitate the initiation and completion of development projects to promote growth.

He said they should find ways of starting and financing the projects through to completion to bring the needed social amenities to the door-steps of the people.

Mr Amedior, addressing members at Alavanyo-Agoxoe in the Hohoe Municipality during a Social Auditing Engagement, said most projects, when initiated by community members, would result in community ownership and effective maintenance to deliver vital social services to the people.

“Social auditing seeks to promote community ownership of developmental projects and policies, increase awareness of the operations of the local government and empower the citizenry to demand accountability from duty-bearers,” he said.

He said there was a need for the community to support and own developmental projects by government or other organisations to ensure their success and longer lifespan.

Mr Amedior said they must decide on their most pressing needs and advance plans towards attaining them.

The community members mentioned a dumping site, cemetery, computer laboratory, centre, proper layout of the community and CHPS compound as some of their pressing needs.

Mr Sevor-Gbanaglo Hope, a Principal Environmental Health Assistant, said sanitation was a collective and community-led responsibility and urged the people to take the initiative to address such issues.

He advised them to continue to adhere to the COVID-19 safety protocols as the country was still battling the pandemic.

A five-member Committee was formed to help provide a permanent dumpsite for the community and engage the appropriate stakeholders to achieve the desired results.

Mr Prosper Folitse, the Hohoe Municipal Works Engineer, said the Assembly was committed to supporting communities to complete self-help projects to enhance development.

He called on them to approach the Assembly on projects they had initiated for the needed assistance.

Mr Samuel Kofitse, Regent of the Community, expressed gratitude to the Commission and the European Union for the engagement and pledged to ensure the committee lived up to its mandate.