Star Ghana forum Accra, April 18, GNA – STAR-Ghana, a multi donor organization, on Thursday held sustainability learning festival for its grant partners in Accra.
The festival aimed at assisting the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), who are the grant partners in Ghana, to chart long term sustainability programmes to reinforce the impact of the organizations; get them to a stage of higher efficiency and effectiveness and wean them away from donors.
Mr Amidu Ibrahim-Tanko, leader of the team, STAR-Ghana, said donors’ support was dwindling and the sustainability programme was to assist CSOs to be intellectually independent, think for themselves, and be autonomous, rather than being driven by donor agendas.
‘STAR-Ghana proposes to adopt an approach that will provide support that will lead to greater sustainability among CSOs, while aligning organizations to its overall goal of increasing accountability and responsiveness of government, traditional authorities and private enterprises.
‘STAR-Ghana’s performance will be measured at the level of how relevant, effective and efficient STAR-Ghana is as a broker of civil society and Parliamentary influence in governance of public goods and service delivery,’ he said.
He said STAR-Ghana believed that CSOs were the vehicles for growth and organizing this sustainability programme for them, they would be in a better position to hold government accountable on policies and promises.
He said after thorough due diligence, the Star-Ghana signed a 1.6 million-dollar grant contract with 16 CSOs to execute their intended projects throughout the country.
He said the sustainability funding was intended to assist organizations to achieve measurable step changes in their ability to bring about real change on behalf of and with their constituents.
Mr Francis Ansong, Director of VOICE Ghana, a Ho-based CSO championing the course of People With Disability in the Volta Region, said government and District Assemblies should be proactive in supporting activities of people with disability.
STAR-Ghana is a multi-donor pooled funding mechanism funded by European Union, Department for International Development and Danish International Development Agency and United States Agency for International Department to increase the influence of civil society and Parliament in the governance of public goods and service delivery to improve accountability and responsiveness of Ghana’s government, traditional authorities and the private sector.
GNA