Bawku (U/E), Aug 26, GNA - Mr Samuel N'Lary, the Bawku Municipal Co-ordinating Director, has urged zone councillors and unit committee members to re-double their efforts to ensure that the decentralization is attained to speed up development in the area. He said this would facilitate citizens' active participation in governance as they deliberate on issues of interest affecting their welfare to deepen democracy.

''By this, the citizenry can build on consensus and find alternative ways of developing the area rather than being apathetic to the running of the area by the Municipal Directorate.'' Mr. N'Lary made the appeal at a day's durbar for zone councillors and unit committee members of the Bawku Municipal Assembly on Thursday at Bawku.

It was organised by the Municipal Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in collaboration with IBIS, an international non-governmental organisation. He cautioned the councillors and committee members not to turn themselves into judges to meddle in disputes that would bring the decentralization process into disrepute.

Mr Roland Azumah, the Bawku Municipal NCCE Director, said citizens' active participation in governance should go beyond elections. He said in spite of the prudent measures adopted by the assembly to increase its revenue base, revenue was still low due to the difficulty in collecting them from their sources.

Mr Azumah told them to intensify their approach by educating the citizenry to honour their tax obligations. ''This will reduce the nation's over dependency on foreign donors.''