The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is revising its partnerships for community-based capacity building initiatives in Ghana. The UN agency has over the years been supporting income generation, poverty reduction and sustainable livelihoods projects in deprived communities. According to Nicholas Amponsah, UNDP Project Coordinator for the Millennium Development Goals, the catalyst role of the development partner has yielded beneficial results in community empowerment. He however says there is the need to develop innovative approaches and strategies for increased local economic productivity, where communities are supported to harness available resources in their localities for sustainable growth. Speaking to Luv Fm in Kumasi, Mr. Amponsah stated that the new interventions would ensure beneficiary communities own the projects and leverage on the support given them to grow the local economy independently. “When you do an intervention, you have to make sure that there is sustainability. That exit strategy is very important… so how best is the government, how best is the district, how best is the community taking ownership of it? So we’re going to move into a different system: we are no longer going to give these bicycles, rams, donkeys, bulls and others but now we are moving into what we call the local economic development. “Everything is in the districts, everything is in the communities, so how best can they use what they have? And they have been told that they can build on the assets that they have,” Mr. Amponsah noted. He observed challenges of funding usually associated with sustainable livelihood projects will be minimized when communities are able to harness available resources for their development projects. Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh/Luv Fm/Ghana