The Hunger Project-Ghana, in partnership with The Hunger Project-Germany and five districts in the Eastern Region, have developed a citizens’ charter to provide a ready reference for assemblies and citizens to improve the efficiency of service delivery.
The citizens’ charter shows major service delivery and the time frame set for providing some important services to the people, as well as the quality and standard parameters for the delivery of services as provided by national and international best practices in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
Mr Samuel E. Afrane, Country Director of The Hunger Project-Ghana, explained this at a handing over ceremony of the citizens’ charter to the districts in Somanya in the Yilo Krobo Municipality.
A “citizen’s charter” is a document of commitments made by an organization to citizens or groups in respect of the services or schemes being provided to them or to be provided to them.
He said the charter focused on governance and security, education, health and well-being, road and mobility, agriculture and livelihood, environment, water, and sanitation, but the content of these thematic areas differed from each of the districts.
The citizen’s charter was developed as a component of a three-year project called “Strengthening sub-district institutions for community-led public services in Ghana,” which is being implemented in epicenters in five districts in the Eastern Region.,
The project, managed by The Hunger Project Ghana, began in December 2021 with funding from the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) would end in November 2024.
The beneficiary epicenters and districts included Baware Epicenter in the Okere district, Konkone Epicenter in the Upper Manya Krobo District, Dominase Epicenter in the Fanteakwa district, Apau-Wawase Epicenter in the Ayensuano district, and Akpo Akpamu in the Yilo Krobo Municipality.
Mr Afrane urged district members to be patriotic, study, implement, and roll out the citizens’ charter for real changes that promote community development.
Mr Solomon Amoakwa, Governance Project Coordinator of The Hunger Project – Ghana, mentioned that “Strengthening sub-district institutions for community-led public services in Ghana,” aimed to address poor access to public services, particularly in rural communities, which had a negative impact on economic productivity and people’s well-being.
The project has trained the media, district chief executives, community representatives, and about 300 members of unit committees, area councils, and epicenter committees.
The Hunger Project is a non-governmental organization that implements programmes to improve rural people’s living standards in terms of health, nutrition, education, and livelihood empowerment.
Mr Eric Tetteh, Yilo Krobo Municipal Chief Executive, called on assembly staff and members of the area to comply with and perform their duties as the citizens’ charter required of them.
“Going according to the charter will enable the Yilo Krobo Municipal Assembly to meet the target of the 2023 District Performance Assessment Tool,” he said.
