LGS bemoans women’s low participation in decision-making

The Head of the Local Government Service  (LGS), Dr Callistus  Mahama, has bemoaned the low participation of women in decision-making positions in the local government system of the country.

He stated that a recent survey conducted by the LGS revealed that out of the 216 District Coordinating Directors (DCDs) working in the various metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) across the country, only 13 were women.

He added that out of the 13 women working as DCDs in the 216 MMDAs  only seven were in substantive positions with the remaining six in acting capacities.

Strategy

He said the service had, therefore, decided to come out with a strategy to increase women's participation at the decision- making levels in the local governance process and called for the support of the Public Services Commission to appoint more women as directors of the MMDAs to break the male dominance of the profession.

Dr Mahama was addressing the second Annual General Meeting ( AGM) of the Association of District  Coordinating Directors (ADCOD), Ghana, in Tamale at the weekend on the theme: " The Coordinating Director As Agent of Change".

He stated that another issue that came out during the survey was that women were declining in the position of DCD because of the "heat" or " pressure" said to be associated with the work.

That, he said, the service was working to address or to minimise to get more women involved in the decision-making process at the local government level.

Tenure of assembly members

Dr Mahama also debunked the assertions and impressions being created in the media that work had come to a standstill in the various MMDAs across the country, following the decision by the Local Government Ministry to not extend the tenure of assembly members as a result of the cancellation of the district level elections to elect new members.

He said the day-to-day activities at the various MMDAs had not come to a standstill as the running of the assemblies depended on the DCDs who were also the administrators who worked closely with their DCEs.

Dr Mahama, however, urged the MMDAs to suspend all capital expenditure projects until the assemblies were duly constituted to give approval for those projects.

Formation of the association

The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, who delivered the keynote address commended the DCDs for the formation of the association to serve as a platform for building professionalism and the needed capacity for effective service delivery to the citizenry.

The President of the ADCOD, Mr Peter Nimo, said as technocrats they would continue to discharge their duties effectively and efficiently to speed up development in the districts and also for the effective implementation of the decentralisation process.

The Vo-Naa Mohammed Bawa, who is also a Member of the Council of State, who chaired the function, called on the directors to ensure that the bye-laws and other policies to ensure a clean and safe environment to promote an orderly development, were operationalised.