“As traditional rulers, we should know the type of project awarded and the amount involved, specification of the project, time allocated for the execution of the project, and the name of the contractor involved in the implementation of the project.

“This would enable us supervise projects to ensure quality delivery and value for money,” Kuntolo-Naa Sulemana Pelpuo said at a day’s Social Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (SPEFA) forum, organised to improve the skills and knowledge of citizens to demand accountability from duty bearers.

Action for Sustainable Development (ASUDEV) organised the forum, which was on the theme: “The role of citizens on Social Accountability”.

The chiefs expressed concern that some projects in the communities were shoddily delivered to the detriment of the people.

The Kuntolo Naa said because chiefs had always been side-lined in knowing about projects awarded in the communities, they were unable to carry out supervision on such projects to ensure that the citizens were not short changed.

He called for active collaboration between traditional rulers and government on one hand, and traditional rulers and district assemblies on the other hand, to ensure that projects meant to improve the living standards of the people were not hidden from the knowledge of the people.

“The assemblies should be more opened and transparent and let chiefs and other opinion leaders in the communities know the type of projects that were being implemented in their communities so that citizens could participate in the execution,” he said.

Mr. Salifu Kanton, Executive Director of Community Development Alliance (CDA), a child centred non-governmental organisation, who was a source person at the forum, urged Ghanaians to have permanent interest and avoid the practice of having permanent political parties, which they vote for.

Mr. Kanton who took the participants through the duties and functions of Parliamentarians, District Chief Executives and Assembly Members, said Ghanaians should have one interest which is about development and avoid political party’s cronyism.

“Let us be concerned about development and if a contractor failed to execute projects because he or she is a member of a particular political party, let us all stand up and condemn it irrespective of our political affiliation,” he said.

Some assembly members also expressed disappointed that some contracts were awarded to contractors to carry out projects in their communities without their involvement.

The non-involvement of assembly members in the implementation of government projects, especially with some projects which were awarded from Accra, had often resulted in shoddy work.

Mr. Osman Kanton, Executive Director of ASUDEV, called on district assemblies to oraganise “Town Hall” forums for the citizens to demand accountability from them.

He said the citizen social accountability project was a flagship one of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, to equip citizens to demand accountability from duty bearers and other stakeholders entrusted with public finances.

He said inadequate transparency and accountability was a challenge to Ghanaians because resources of the nation were invested only in the hands of politicians.