Government should not take blame while culprits are shielded

Dan Botwe, Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, has said individuals should be held accountable for public disservice and not always the government.

He said the central government had been placed at the receiving end of all public angst, leaving the real perpetrators to persist at denying the needs of the public.

The Minister said this in Ho when he met with the leadership of the Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC) and the Ho Municipal Assembly as part of a working visit to the Volta Region.

He said public participation in local government would help keep the Assemblies up to the task, and therefore urged all to familiarize themselves with the Local Government Act, which provided prominent stakeholder roles for the public.

“The public must be made aware of the people in charge of the respective positions,” Mr. Botwe said while calling for wrongdoers to be named and shamed.

“People should be held responsible. They are the cause of suffering yet the blame ends up on the government for no reason, while culprits are shielded,” he said.

The Minister said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has committed to deepening decentralization, and that his government would “together ensure that we all follow the Law and that the public is sensitized.”

He asked the Assemblies to educate the people to facilitate the decentralization agenda, noting that stakeholder participation and public advocacy remained crucial.

“Assemblies must create awareness on local level decentralization and grassroots participation. It is important that as we lead the people, we also educate them to understand the sets of relationships that exist between us.

“We should seek their understanding and support, so they would further our drive for development,” Mr. Botwe said and re-echoed the Ministry’s commitment to working with the Regional Coordinating Councils towards that end.