Over one hundred and twelve people, compressing Community Base Organizations (CBOs) and local NGOs in the northern region have ended a tree day festival in Dalun in the Kumbungu district of the northern with the called on CBOs to liaise with the Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies for effective development of the communities.
The CBOs who are basically helping community members to facilitate development are sometimes being sideline by the authorities of CBOs and NGOs due proper consultations of the assemblies has led to non recognition of them.
It is against this backdrop that the Ghana Developing Communities Associations (GDCA) brought together stakeholders to discuss challenges facing the grass root development in their various areas.
The CBOs, local NGOs and 14 district planning officers in the northern region will also share ideas on how to overcome developmental issues affecting them.
The CBOs festival was instituted in 2007 as an advocacy platform for CBOs in the northern region to collectively advocate on issues concerning to community development.
The Manager of Community Base Organizations and Local Organization and Mobilization(CBOs/LOM at Ghana Developing Communities Association (GDCA) Gmabi A. Philip said, this year’s festival is looking at the role of CBOs in the medium term development plans process. Mr Gmabi Philip added that, the essences of the festival are to make sure that the next plans takes into recognition what their needs are.
Participants at the festival are expected to deigned the next medium term development plans that will be responsive to the needs of the people.
Presenting a paper on participatory governance in northern region; the role of CBOs in Medium Term Development Planning, the Northern Regional Planning Officer, Alhaji Abdul-Karim Adam said is time for people to be involved in the planning process by the various district assemblies.
He said the major challenge facing some CBOs is the assemblies not being aware of the activities of the CBOs in spite their contributions to the development of the communities. He said CBOs must make themselves available to assemblies so that their activities will be in line with the assembly’s development plans. This year’s CBOs festival was on the theme; ’’towards participatory governance in northern region, the role of CBOs in medium term development planning’’.
’’Plans are meant to develop the people in the area and to make living condition better for the people so it is the people that you are planning for and they should involved; Alhaji Abdul-Karim added’’. He stressed that the vulnerable, private sector and CBOs must all be involved.
The regional planning officer entreated district planning officers who facilitate planning process to be mindful of the proper what he called planning for the planning process in order not to deviate the dates set aside for implementation of process in the district.
The CBOs he said will be working with various metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to improve the living conditions of community members.