Minister for Local Government, Mahama Ayariga, says the remaining two and a half years of the Mahama administration are sufficient to address the challenges confronting Ghana’s local government system.
Mr Ayariga believes many of the problems affecting local governance are organisational in nature and can be addressed through improved coordination, effective leadership and better management.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday, September 10, he said strengthening the local government system is critical to restoring public confidence because it is the level of government with which citizens interact most frequently.
“I believe that even though I have barely two and a half years, I believe that that is enough time to fix the system,” he said.
Mr Ayariga said his experience across various sectors of government puts him in a strong position to provide the leadership required to work with regional ministers and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to improve the system.
He also noted that significant resources are available at the local government level but have not been fully utilised to address some of the challenges confronting the sector.
The Minister said his priority would be to improve coordination and ensure that existing resources are used more effectively to improve service delivery at the local level.