The Head of the Local Government Service (LGS), Dr Callistus Mahama, has called for the continuous operationalisation of the LGS policy framework to ensure improved and efficient service delivery at sub-national levels.
He made the call at a workshop in Ada in the Greater Accra Region to orient members of the newly constituted Parliamentary Select Committee on Local Government and Rural Development on the operations of the ministries and agencies in local governance.
New Act
Dr Mahama provided an overview of the LGS as stipulated in the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936), which repealed and replaced the Local Government Service Act, 2003 (Act 656) that established the Service.
He said Act 936 addressed the bottlenecks and responded to emerging trends in decentralisation and local governance by synchronising critical provisions of the 1992 Constitution on fiscal, political, decentralised planning and administrative decentralisation.
The LGS is a public service institution with the mandate to secure the effective administration and management of the decentralised local government system in the country.
The LGS is also responsible for the development of professional standards to guide human resource management and the provision of efficient and effective service delivery in consultation with other public services. Furthermore, it assists district assemblies to open their local economies for development.
Policy frameworks
Dr Mahama said since its establishment, the LGS had developed a number of policy frameworks to help it to discharge its mandate.
These include Capacity Building Framework, the Performance Management System and the Service Delivery Standards.
“Work ethics and minimum performance standards have been integrated into the operations of the service as a means of improving client satisfaction,” he said.
Dr Mahama said the continuous support of development partners contributed to the successes the service had chalked up. He, however, mentioned resource constraints as a major challenge confronting the service, besides inadequate office accommodation to house the full complement of staff.
“Nonetheless the service is poised to deliver on its mandate,” he added.
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