President J.A. Kufuor has called on district assemblies to work in concert with other stakeholders to meet the challenges posed by the transfer of 30,000 workers from the Civil Service for the benefit of the Local Government Service. He said the immediate demands of the new staff, such as accommodation, places in school for their children and other domestic needs, must occupy the attention of the assemblies. The President made the call when he launched the Local Government Service in Accra on Thursday. The motto for the service is: Decentralization, Democracy, Development. The service, whose mandate is to secure the effective administration and management of local government systems in the country, is the newest and the latest of the public services of Ghana. It is also to address the human resource needs of local government reform and to make the staff of the Service committed, dedicated and accountable to the local government bodies. President Kufuor said the service, in line with its motto, should, ensure that services were available where needed, that there was the widest possible involvement in decision-making, while genuine development for the well-being of the community remained the goal. He charged district assemblies to adhere to the newly-introduced financial procedures and practices for addressing real and perceived financial weaknesses. He lauded the important reforms that were already in progress, such as a comprehensive decentralisation policy framework, fiscal decentralisation design and composite budget to enhance decentralisation. The President said efficiency in public administration was the cherished goal of the government, adding that “the government will be pleased if the citizenry are able to access services at little or no trouble at all”. He appealed to the new service to co-ordinate its policies and programmes with the other public services, particularly the Ghana Education Service and the Ghana Health Service, for shared insights and experience in providing for the community. The Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, Mr Kwadwo Adjei-Darko, said since the establishment of the service in 2003, the ministry had assisted both the Local Government Service Council and its secretariat to get started and also implement the strategic plan of the service. He said the Local Government Service would be involved in human resource development issues, performance and audit management matters and also give technical assistance and supervision to enhance the effective Performance of the functions of the district assemblies and regional coordinating councils. The President of the National House of Chiefs, Odeneho Gyapong Ababio II, said the establishment of the service would enhance the nation’s political and socio-economic development. He recalled the significant role traditional rulers played in the colonial era on behalf of the colonial administrators and said that had contributed to the development of the country. In a welcome address, the Chairman of the Local Government Service Council stressed the need to resource the council to enable it to perform more creditably. Source: Daily Graphic