The Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and the Governance and Institutional Development Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat have organized a five-day capacity building workshop on the theme “Strengthening Good Governance and Decentralization in Africa”. Participants include Chief Executives, management level officers in local government and other senior officers involved in management of strategic change in local governments of their countries.The workshop seeks to equip participants with knowledge to among other things understand strategic planning, assess and improve performance in service delivery, understand finance and revenue raising in the local government context, avoid corrupt practices and promote ethical behaviour and to promote accountability and transparency.In a welcome address, the Rector of GIMPA, Prof. Yaw Agyeman Badu said GIMPA was happy to be associated with the conference identifying it as very significant to accelerated development in Africa. He said the five-day workshop sets the right tone to equip local government managers with the requisite knowledge, skills and attitudes to build effective local government systems in Ghana and on the continent as a whole.Prof Agyeman Badu assured participants of GIMPA’s commitment to continue working with the government, donor partners, NGOs and other stakeholders to build human resource capacity for a sustained development.Delivering his key note address, Guest Speaker Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, said the workshop came at a very opportune time to help Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives to build their capacity to be able to master leadership at the local level and to properly discharge the enormous responsibilities bestowed on them. He urged all participants to take the programme with all seriousness so as to derive the maximum benefit for the good of Ghana’s local government system and the decentralization process.The Commonwealth Representative, Dr. Roger Koranteng, Governance Adviser (Commonwealth), emphasized the role of decentralization to good governance. He cited Ghana as a leader in Africa where decentralization is at the heart of government business reforms. He said though the process is oftentimes inhibited by various factors, decentralization must be made to work because it satisfies the principle of good governance, equity, and popular participation for greater national development.Source: Corporate Affairs and Institutional Advancement, GIMPA