The Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS) has held its 6^th congregation ceremony in Accra for about 111 graduates from its Accra and Tamale Campuses on the theme, "Building Back Better through Capacity Development for Effective Decentralisation, Local Governance, Digitalisation and Economic Transformation."

Daniel Botwe, Honourable Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, read a speech on behalf of the Vice President, H. E. Alhaji Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia

, the guest speaker.

In his address, Dr. Bawumia outlined that the emphasis on decentralisation has triggered the creation of the Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation (IMCCoD), with powers from the office of the President to coordinate sectoral Ministries working with Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).

He also noted that the Local Government Service (LGS) was also established to oversee the effective management of staff of local governments.

According to him, the ILGS has been established to provide structured training to local government staff and functionaries.

Addressing the graduands, Vice President Bawumia said the world is knowledge-based, and therefore, the graduands have been trained on critical and innovative skills required for the needed interventions for Ghana's development.

He urged them to provide the needed solutions to the problems confronting economic transformation and local development.

The Vice President urged the management and staff of ILGS to continue to work hard to create a congenial environment for academic work and introduce more creative and innovative programmes.

Source:                 Public Relations Unit (MLGDRD)

A three-day procurement training under the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion (SOCO) Programme has been held for staff of District Assemblies (DAs) from the Upper East, Upper West, Savannah, North East, Northern, and Oti Regions implementing the programme.

The training programme would build the capacities of Procurement beneficiary MMDAsOfficers, Heads of Works, Finance Officers, Project Focal Persons from beneficiary MMDAs and heads of Procurementsfron the six beneficiary Regional Coordinating Councils and Engineers from the Zonal Coordinating and Satellite Offices of the Project Implementing Unit to ensure smooth procurement processes as well as the implementation of the project.

Participants underwent training on procurement Principles andSpecification Writing; Ethics; Procurement Pitfalls; Conflict of Interest; Understanding the Government of Ghana's Public Procurement Laws and Regulations; World Bank Procurement Framework, among others.

Source :               Public Relations Unit (MLGDRD)

The Ministry of Local Government Decentralisation, and Rural Development (MLGDRD) under the Ghana Urban Mobility and Accessibility Project (GUMAP) with support from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) is pleased to announce an upcoming Household Travel Survey (HTS). This is a unique effort to gather comprehensive data on travel patterns, behaviours, and transportation demands of residents of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA), to inform transport planning and management.

This survey is set to contribute to the development of a sustainable and efficient transportation system that meets the needs of residents of GAMA.

The survey is scheduled to commence on [Monday 24^th July 2023] and continue to [Saturday 30^th September 2023], the HTS aims to collect information to understand how households move within and between communities as well as identify the factors influencing their travel choices.  The enumerators for the HTS will employ standard data collection methodologies to gather the data, ensuring statistical accuracy and confidentiality of respondents.

The survey will encompass a representative sample of 7500 households from various Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies (MMAs) in GAMA, considering urban, and sub-urban areas by examining travel patterns among residence across diverse communities. It will also provide crucial insights into the experiences of different households with regards to transport choices and trip satisfaction by helping policymakers develop efficient transportation strategies that cater for the unique needs of each MMA.

During the survey period, officially assigned and well identified enumerators will visit selected households across twenty-nine (29) MMAs in GAMA to administer questionnaires that comprehensively capture travel-related information. The questionnaire will cover topics such as travel mode preferences (trotro or private), trip duration, purpose of travel, frequency of travel, commuting habits, access to transportation options, and challenges faced during travel.

The MMAs include Accra metro, Tema Metro, Ga West, La Nkwantanang Madina, Ga Central, Ga East, Ga South, Tema West, Ashiaman, Kpone Katamanso, Ledzokuku, Krowor, Korley Klottey, La Dade-Kotopon , Ayawaso North, Ayawaso East, Ayawaso Central, Okaikwei North, Adentan, Ayawaso West, Ga North, Ablekuma Central, Ablekuma West, Ablekuma North, Weija-Gbawe, Gomoa East, Nsawam Adoagyiri, Awutu Senya East and Ningo Prampram District Assembly.