NGO encourages accountability on public spending

The Centre for the Development of People (CEDEP), an NGO, has launched a project to encourage public institutions to be more transparent and accountable to the citizens.
Dubbed “Social Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability” (SPEFA), it involves creating the platform for the people to engage the institutions on how government resources are being spent and the benefits to society.
The project is currently targeting district assemblies by facilitating periodic interaction between them and the local population at town hall meetings.
Already, representatives of identifiable groups are being trained and sufficiently equipped to effectively engage the assemblies by asking the right questions.
Mr Patrick Amoateng Mensah, the Executive Director of CEDEP, said the communication gap between the institutions and the public would have to be bridged to allow for better understanding and promote good governance.
He was speaking at a town hall meeting at Prempeh Assembly Hall as a continuation of the ongoing SPEFA project in the Kumasi Metropolitan Area.
SPEFA encourages duty bearers to be accountable to the people they represent by constantly involving them in the decision-making process to ensure that the concerns of all citizens are essentially taking into consideration during decision making.
The SPEFA project since its inception has provided a platform to exchange diverse views, give voice to different sectors of society and enhance citizen’s interest in developmental issues in the Kumasi Metropolitan Area.
This forum, being the second in year two of the SPEFA project, among other things will offer participants the opportunity to continue to build their capacities on social Accountability and Public Financial Management, which will facilitate an efficient and effective process to ensure that decisions are made with the wellbeing of citizens at the centre.
Mr Mensah pleaded with all stakeholders to continue to support this process and its sustainability even when funding for projects ends.