BACKGROUND
Ghana’s Strengthening Accountability Mechanism (GSAM) project is a USAID – funded project which focuses on strengthening citizens’ oversight of capital development projects to improve local government transparency, accountability and performance in 100 districts of Ghana. GSAM is designed to strengthen social accountability by improving information to CSOs to enhance their capacity to demand accountability.
The goal of GSAM during the period is to strengthen citizen’s oversight of capital projects to improve local government transparency, accountability, and performance in the delivery of social services. The project seeks to improve accountability by enhancing mechanisms of bottom-up social accountability in Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) through increasing the quality and quantity of information available to citizens about the effectiveness of development projects funded by MMDAs capital budgets, via extensive CSO monitoring, the production of scorecards, and public information campaigns that mobilize citizens to use the scorecards to demand improved development planning and execution.
The philosophy of GSAM is that availability and accessibility of detailed information on local capital projects will improve the capacity of citizens to hold governments accountable. For instance, where capital project development is poor, citizens can use this information to ask relevant questions in their quest to demand improvements from local officials. The specific objectives are thus to improve citizens’ participation in the planning and implementation of social services to ensure the delivery of inclusive services that responds to citizens’ needs, citizens and CSOs empowered with information to advocate for quality service delivery and improved Capacity of District Assemblies to be more responsive to citizen’s demand.
KEY ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN
- Support citizens to develop Community Action Plan in 10 selected communities in the Suhum and Birim North District.
- Hold semi-annual meetings with MMDAs to review implementation of Annual Action Plans in the Suhum and Birim North District.
- Work with citizens to monitor District Assemblies’ service delivery facilities using scorecards in the Suhum and Birim North District.
- Support Community Development Monitors to develop community score cards on Service provision in the 3 communities in the Suhum and Birim North District.
- Organize interface meetings with service providers in the Suhum and Birim North District.
- Organize District Dialogue meetings in the Suhum and Birim North District.
KEY RESULT
- Communities supported to develop Community Action Plans in the Suhum and Birim North Districts.
- Increased knowledge on the Medium Term Development Plan and Community Action Plan Development
- Strong participation of the local communities regarding the Community Action Plan Development.
- Semi-annual meetings with MMDAs to review implementation of Annual Action Plans held
- Support CDMs to develop community score cards on Service provision in the 3 communities in the Suhum and Birim North District.
- Organize interface meetings with service providers in the Suhum and Birim North District.
- Organize District Dialogue meetings in the Suhum and Birim North District.