Minister for Local Government, Mahama Ayariga, says the Mahama administration has enough time to address the major challenges confronting Ghana’s local government system.

He believes many of the challenges are organisational rather than a result of inadequate resources and can therefore be addressed through stronger leadership, better coordination and more effective use of available resources.

Speaking on Citi FM on Thursday, September 10, Mr Ayariga said his experience in government would enable him to work effectively with regional ministers and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to improve local governance.

“I believe that even though I have barely two and a half years, I believe that that is enough time to fix the system,” he said.

Mr Ayariga said strengthening local government would be central to restoring public confidence in the administration, given that it is the level of government with which citizens interact most frequently.

He said his priority would be to improve coordination among local authorities and ensure that existing resources are used more effectively to address challenges and improve service delivery.

According to him, better management of resources, coupled with stronger leadership at the local level, could significantly improve the performance of the local government system within the remaining period of the administration.