Mr James Gunu, Volta Regional Minister, said the Local Government Service remains a vital pillar in the nation’s quest to bring governance closer to the people.
The Service is also essential to deepening citizen participation, and ensuring equitable distribution of resources and opportunities, he said.
Mr Gunu said this in a speech read on his behalf by Mr Augustus Awity, Chief Director of the Volta Regional Coordinating Council at the 6th Annual Conference of the Ghana Association of Local Government Service Administrative Officers (GALGA) in Ho, in the Volta Region.
He said the government was committed to supporting the work of the administrators through policy direction, capacity building, and provision of resources.
The Minister said administrators were leaders of change, catalyst of innovation, and stewards of public trust.
He said administrators represented the professional core of the Service, and the custodians of policy, guardians of institutional integrity and the architects of effective and responsive local governance.
The Minister said the regions throughout the country continued to rely on the diligence, integrity and professionalism of the Local Government Service.
He said the expertise of the administrators in enhancing efficiency in public administration, improve resource management, and deliver quality services that responded to the needs and aspirations of the citizens could not be underestimated.
Mr Edmund Osei-Gyamfi, National President of GALGA, stated that local governance was the cement of Ghana’s decentralisation experiment, and that its success was not only predicated on political leadership.
Touching on the theme: “Enhancing Local Governance Through Administrative Excellence,” Mr Osei-Gyamfi noted that administrative excellence was not necessarily about mundane paperwork.
“It is more a question of making systems function, getting the decisions done, and maintaining public trust by being professional and open,” he said.
Mr Osei-Gyamfi said public administration theorists had indicated that systems of governance were effective when administrative organisation was good and officers were efficient and upright.
GNA
