The Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC) has emerged as the best Council in the 2023 Performance Evaluation Report of Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs) and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).

The feat marks the fourth consecutive time the VRCC has annexed the best position under Dr Archibald Letsa, the Regional Minister.

VRCC grabbed the first position with a percentage score of 91.50, Greater Accra came second at 90.40 per cent, with Western Region placing third, scoring 89.25 per cent, while the North East Regional Coordinating Council came 16th with a 33.20 per cent score.

Dr Nana Ato Arthur, Head of Service, said the Local Government Service (LGS), per section 51 of the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936), was established to secure effective administration and management of the decentralised local government system in Ghana.

He said the Service “exists to support Local Government to deliver value for money services through the mobilisation, harmonisation and utilisation of qualified, human capacity and material resources to promote local and national development”.

“In line with this mission statement, the LGS had developed a comprehensive Performance Management System (PMS) that was based on agreed Service Delivery Standards (SDS) which were operationalised through the PMS at all levels”.

Some general issues and observations from the 2023 Performance Contracts (PCs) of the Regional Coordinating Councils include some visitors’ washrooms of RCCs were still not well managed with running water, tissue and soap.

Most RCCs have active websites; however, updates do not cover extensively the activities of the departments or services rendered by the RCCs. The updates largely focused on the activities of the Regional Ministers.

Most RCC departmental heads forwarded Departmental reports directly to the respective MDAs without recourse to the RCCs. The submission of quarterly departmental reports through RCDs has still not been done regularly, and the inadequate and slow release of funds remains a major challenge for the RCCs in the discharge of their mandates.

The report also found that some RCCs were still receiving correspondence from the RM’s secretariat instead of the Records Management Unit. The processes and procedures prescribed in the newly developed LGS Records Management and Procedure Manual were still not being followed in some RCCs.

The Performance Management System (PMS) is a systematic process for improving performance by developing the individual performance of staff and teams to enhance productivity, develop competencies, increase job satisfaction and achieve the full potential of all staff in the Service.

It is operationalised through the Performance Management Instruments (Contract & Appraisal) in which the Service enters into agreement and commitment with its employees to set clear, quantifiable objectives and indicators for attainment within a given time.

The main objectives of the exercise were to monitor and verify the performance of RCCs and MMDAs based on their Annual Performance Evaluation Reports from the Performance Contracts signed between the RMs and RCDs as well as MMDCEs and MMDCDs.

It is also to identify comprehensive recommendations and feedback on the findings of the performance status of the RCCs and MMDAs against their evaluation reports; and provide recommendations for improvement of the PMS.

The assessment of the 2023 RCC and MMDA performance contracts, the OHLGS received funding support from USAID through CARE International Ghana to conduct the exercise, which involved four phases namely: Planning, Mid-year Review, End of the Year Evaluation and Decision Making.

Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, Volta Regional Minister, said hard work, steadfastness, resilience and tenacity of purpose were responsible for the feat, though not the first time being adjudged the best in the country.

He paid glowing tribute to staffs of the VRCC, Municipal and District Assemblies in the region for their unalloyed support and hardwork, which churned out the achievements.

“This is a call to greater duty, teamwork and leadership.”