The Swiss Ambassador to Ghana, Mrs. Simone Giger has called on the Honourable Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development (MLGDRD), Daniel Botwe at his office in Accra on 6th September 2022.
Receiving her, Hon Botwe described Switzerland as an important partner in the area of decentralisation for Ghana and expressed the government’s appreciation for the Swiss support.
He said the District Assemblies Common Fund and Responsive Factor Grant (DACF-RFG) by the Swiss Government have supported the machinery for his Ministry to ensure systems were put in place for efficient and effective domestic revenue mobilisations at the local level and the Government desired to ensure measures were put in place to satisfy the aspirations of the people at the local level. He called for an extension of the DACF-RFG for a year.
He gave an assurance that government prioritises decentralization; thus, new appointments have been made for the Inter-Ministerial Steering Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation which was responsible for the coordination of all decentralization reforms initiatives to continue its work.
Hon Botwe disclosed that the Committee would start work with its Technical Working Group by October to ensure decentralisation work well. Also, work on the Local Governance Finance Bill is being expedited to be passed as soon as possible.
In her remarks, The Ambassador, H. E. Mrs. Simone Giger said the SECO mission was satisfied with the work the Assemblies have done with the DACF-RFG support funding and promised to consult on the one-year extension for the DACF-RFG.
Source: PUBLIC RELATIONS UNIT (MLGDRD)