Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Ghana's Vice-President, has urged the Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to collaborate with the business sector to grow the local economy.
"This is to move the MMDAs away from providing essential services and toward promoting an enabling environment for the private sector to partner with local governments to develop and sustain businesses, create jobs, and reduce poverty through the mobilization of local, natural, and human resources, as well as value addition," he explained.
The Vice-President delivered these statements during the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG21st )'s Biennial National Delegates Conference, which was held at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology's Great Hall in Kumasi.
According to him, the government includes local economic growth as one of the five main pillars of the policy foundations of our national decentralization policy and strategy through the decentralization policy framework.
"Our MMDAs are not just agents of political engagement, but also agents of economic growth," Dr. Bawumia said.
The conference's subject, "Building the Future Together: The Role of Local Authorities," he added, aligns with the government's objective of "working together, bouncing back together," and that the MMDAs have a significant duty in bringing development to our communities.
In a presentation at the conference, Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, stressed the importance of the private sector in delivering development and generating jobs in the different MMDAs through effective communication Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements.
He emphasized the development of Integrated Recycling and Compost Plants (IRECOPs) in each of the 16 areas as a timely initiative for producing the essential organic fertilizer to help the agricultural sector grow.
"The continuing Russia-Ukraine conflict has increased worldwide demand for fertilizer," he said, adding that "it is worth mentioning that a local Ghanaian firm is expanding capacity to meet our fertilizer demands."
Hon. Bismark Baisie Nkum, President of NALAG, emphasized the association's mission as an advocacy organisation that affects government policy for successful local administration.
He urged the government to consider giving 5% of the electronic levy to the District Assemblies' common fund and amending the 1992 constitution to allow for simple majority election of presiding members.
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