Fifty budget analysts from all the Municipal, Metropolitan and District Assemblies (MMDAs), across the country, have ended a 10-day training workshop on budget analysis in Accra, on Friday. The training programme forms part of an orientation process to commence the full implementation of administrative and fiscal decentralisation and also to equip new budget analysts with knowledge to help in the discharging of their duties in their various districts. The workshop was aimed at introducing the newly recruited budget analysts to the local government system, roles and responsibilities to the districts. Participants were taken through topics like, the local government systems, fiscal decentralisation, roles and responsibilities of district budget analysts, district development planning and budgetary, local government accounting, local resource mobilisation, local government procurement and contracts management and local government audits. Dr Callistus Mahama, Deputy Director, Institute of Local Government Studies, said the training programme was the first in a series of capacity building workshops, to be organised for district Assemblies’ nation wide. He said in due course, most of the training programmes would be decentralised and that his outfit was working closely with the local government service to organise these programmes. Mr Charles Kotey, Director of Human Resources at the Local Government Service, said the programme would prepare budget analysts ahead of the implementation of the composite budget for the 2012 financial year. He expressed the hope that with this preparation, the budget analysts would help their various districts when the system is rolled out. He urged the participants to put into use what they have learnt at the workshop to help them to discharge their duties. Participants at the end of the workshop, appealed to the government to equip them with resources, to enable them to perform creditably towards the development of the country. Source: GNA