A total of 75 Community Development Monitors (CDMs) in the Ho-West District have undergone a day's training to gain skills to track development projects of the Assembly in the communities.

The CDMs were drawn from 15 communities in the District and are made up of youth, women, opinions, and persons with disabilities.

The training was organised by the Global Action for Women Empowerment (GLOWA) in collaboration with the Ho West District Assembly and formed part of the implementation of the Ghana's Strengthening Accountability Mechanisms (GSAM) project.

It aimed at improving the knowledge of the CDMs in the Assembly's planning processes, the legal framework for citizen participation in local governance, and the processes for monitoring projects and engaging with the Assembly to get their concerns addressed.

Nana Kugbeadzor Bakatey II, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), GLOWA, said the training was an exit strategy to equip the CDMs with the requisite knowledge and skills in monitoring and assessing projects to continue the work of GSAM as it would be folding up in September.

She said the CDMs were also required to lead other community members to demand accountability from duty bearers and ensure that capital projects undertaken by the Assembly in their various communities were done within scope qualitatively too.

Nana Bakatey called for effective collaboration between the Assembly and the communities for accelerated socio-economic development.

Mr Emmanuel Kumfo, Social Welfare and Community Development Officer at the District said it was important for citizens to show interest in projects executed by their assemblies and monitor them to ensure projects were delivered on schedule and of quality.

He said the nation's quest for rapid socio-economic development would effectively be achieved "if all of us remain, citizens, not spectators."

Mr Kumfo said though citizens had to monitor projects undertaken by their assemblies, it was imperative for them to first have the requisite knowledge regarding monitoring, and therefore lauded GLOWA for the training.
Emmanuel Agbesi, Project Coordinator, GLOWA, urged the participants to endeavour to put the knowledge they had acquired at the training to good use for societal development.

Some of the participants, who spoke to the Ghana News Agency said the training was helpful as it had enlightened them on how the Assembly executed projects and commending GLOWA for the opportunity.

They pledged to put the knowledge they had acquired at the training to good use to promote the socio-economic growth of their communities.

Meanwhile, similar training was also provided for 150 CDMs in Krachi East and Nkwanta South Municipalities in the Oti Region.

GSAM is a six-year social accountability project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and it is being implemented in 100 districts of Ghana by a Consortium, comprising CARE, OXFAM, and ISODEC, and in collaboration with 25 other CSOs and the District Assemblies.