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Ashaiman is located within the Tema Municipality and has a population of about 150,000 (2000 Census) making it the largest zonal council in Tema. It is the second largest settlement in the Greater Accra region (Census 2000). However, the figure is highly contested by the citizens in that most of them were not captured by the census. It is also the 5th largest town in Ghana (2000 Census). It is considered the poorest in the Tema Municipality that it’s unplanned, neglected to some extent and under-resourced. It can best be described as a sprawl.
The principal asset for the development of the PPLG programme in Ashaiman is the vibrant social institutions, welfare societies, churches and youth clubs/coalitions which provide a fundamental basis for civic order and social mobilization in the development process of the town. In addition, it also has an impressive array of trades and professional associations, which have the possibility given the needed support of impacting significantly on the management of the local economy and youth employment with the needed support.
The Ashaiman Zonal Council (AZC), which is the strategic partner of the PPLG programme, has a 20-member council made up of 16 men with 4 ladies. The composition is as follows: five are elected assemblypersons, five government appointees and ten unit committee representatives. However, a conscious effort is being made to have women elected assembly persons come july 2005 when we have the local government elections. Ashaiman has 40 unit committees of which 32 are legally constituted. These provide a total of 480 members of which 75 or (14%) are women.
Despite all these, the PPLG programme is faced with a number of challenges which it is trying to address. The most recognized and accepted by all is the environmental health and sanitation issue which is purely attitudinal; youth unemployment resulting in petty criminality and its concomitant problem and the fluid nature of the community in terms of growth just to mention but a few.
A number of activities have been undertaken to facilitate capacity development of the AZC. Some of them are securing an agreement with the TMA to recruit four core staff whose salaries over a one year period was paid fully by Ibis after which the TMA and Ibis shared the cost then subsequently the TMA/AZC took full responsibility after the year elapsed. The AZC has been provided with basic office equipment to make it functional and this has enabled it to document.
Ibis has further assisted the AZC with a tools bank which facilitates communal work. Unit committee members and assembly members as well as recognized groups make use of the tools. Three capacity building training workshops have been organized for assembly members and councilors on rights, duties and responsibilities; operation and maintenance; administration and management of local infrastructure and contract administration. This has increased and enhanced their knowledge on their roles and made them gain better understanding of the local governance process.
An orientation for the 480 unit committee members in Ashaiman was also done in collaboration with the TMA with sponsorship from Ibis. This has aided the unit committee members to understand their roles as leaders in the community and are assisting the zonal council identify taxable properties in the community to name but a few of the activities being undertaken.
Ibis facilitated the preparation os a 3 year strategy development plan 2003-2006 for the AZC. This has served as the main development framework of the council. It is about to be reviewed to ascertain which direction and strategies to take to achieve all set objectives and meet targets
Ibis has also collaborated with the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) to organize environmental sanitation management training for 680 persons comprising assemblypersons, unit committee representatives, opinion leaders, landlords associations, GPRTU representatives, market women, youth coalition and representatives of recognized bodies in Ashaiman. The outcome was an action plan which was drawn by all the electoral area representatives and which will be implemented by them and closely monitored by both Ibis and NCCE.
To further deal with environmental health and sanitation issue, the PPLG programme has been engaged in the mainstreaming of environment in the community through its support for training and sensitization on the need for a clean environment. Since the old folks have already formed habits which is difficult to change despite all the energies put into reforming them, the programme in collaboration with the NCCE and funding from the Regional Environment Programme in refocussing on school kids. The project adopted the "catch-them-young" approach as children are more responsive to change and the future leaders.
To address the youth unemployment problem, Ibis collaborated with NIMCOSS a local NGO devoted to the promotion of economic and social rights of the urban poor based in Ashaiman to organize series of training for selected youth on management skills to enable them run their businesses effectively. A monthly youth forum was also established by this NGO where the youth meet with the AZC and opinion leaders to discuss issues that affect them and the community. The result of these fora has been the setting up of a task force to follow-up on activities and report back top the community. The youth have been empowered to influence decisions and have made things happen in Ashaiman. In collaboration with the appropriate authorities they have been able to enforce law and order and ensure the right thing is done.They have restored the police hotline, to name but a few.
The programme also organizes bi-monthly meetings with the councilors and assemblypersons to assess the progress made so far and re-strategise on how to deal with the pending issues. This gives them the opportunity to interact with their municipal chief Executive, coordinating Director, schedule officer and seasoned local government practitioners of the Zonal Councils at the TMA to seek clarification on issues and demand what is due them from the authorities. It has also served as a learning opportunity
However, the capacity of the AZC still needs to be developed further in the area of competence, efficiency and effectiveness to enable them implement pro-poor and gender equity developments as well as develop partnerships with civil society and the private sector to foster pro-poor decentralization.
In 2005 the programme expanded its collaboration with the zonal councils of Tema Municipality to include Tema Zonal Council and Adenta Zonal Council. Bothe areas are in contrast to the Ashaiman area characterised by relatively well planned infrastructure and more stability concerning the size and ethnic composition of the population. the councils have been supported with office equipment,sanitation tools and training as regards their roles and responsibilities within decentralisation. The two new councils also participate in the joint PPLG training and coordination activities of the sub-programme area.
Contact person: Erika Osae Erika@ibis.ghana.com
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