The Republic of Ghana, represented by the Minister for Local Governments and Rural Development, Hon. Julius Debrah, and the Minister of State for Public Sector Reform, Hon Alhassan Azong (MP), and the Republic of France, represented by H.E. Frédéric Clavier, Ambassador of France to Ghana, have signed a financing agreement for the implementation of the SPF Project ‘Strengthening the accountability of Ghana’s central and local administrations.
French cooperation is alongside Ghanaian authorities on administration issues since 2006, with the program called ‘Fond de Solidarité Prioritaire – Solidarity Priority Fund (SPF)’, a major tool to finance cooperation actions of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the framework of the policy of development aid. The grant amounts 800 million Euros and will be implemented for three years, starting in July 2014. The objective is to contribute to ground the culture of accountability through practical and concrete support to specific mechanisms, both at central and local level, involving the full range of stakeholders. It is composed of three operational components.
The first component, implemented by GIMPA, will consolidate the public sector accountability at central level, while the second component, implemented by IGLS, will consolidate at local level in the Western region. The third component implemented by CDD will allow the innovation for social accountability.
In his speech, the Ambassador of France to Ghana, H.E Frederic Clavier, stated that the project aims to reinforce reforms and make the realities involved in their implementation clearer to policy makers. The activities should focus on the consolidation of good practice in the general functioning of the public administration, and should try to enhance effective citizen participation, based on accountability mechanisms. The Civil Society will finally have a better understanding of issues relating to administrative reforms and the tools at its disposal to ensure the accountability of policymakers.
Rule of law, participation, consensus building, transparency, efficiency, responsiveness and accountability are pillars of democratic governance. State and non-state actors can participate effectively in development processes through the implementation of those governance principles.
In Ghana, if positive progresses have been made during the last decades, key reforms remain to be launched, in order to ensure public sector efficiency and transparency. In that respect the culture of the country’s public sector is not yet fully established, especially considering the context of accelerated decentralisation, which involves important transfer of competences and means to local authorities (Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies).
With the mutual confidence and understanding between France and Ghana, the Ambassador was ‘very glad to open today a new chapter in the history of the relationship in the field of the good governance’.
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