Tema: The newly inaugurated Tema Metro Social Audit Committee has identified poor sanitation and indiscriminate waste disposal at the Tema Community One Market as its first priority intervention as it begins work to promote accountability and improve public service delivery.
According to Ghana News Agency, the six-member committee was inaugurated by Mr Frederick Mawuli Agbenu, Greater Accra Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), during the annual Constitutional Quiz Competition. Speaking at the inauguration, Mr Agbenu emphasized that Ghana's democratic governance system is founded on the principles of transparency, accountability, citizen participation, and the rule of law. He stressed that these principles are essential for effective service delivery and sustainable development.
Mr Agbenu urged the committee members to collaborate and utilize their diverse expertise to address the challenges confronting residents of the Tema Metropolis. The committee's formation followed a social audit exercise involving residents, students, teachers, market women, and other stakeholders to identify development and service delivery concerns within the metropolis.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Timothy Sowah, Chairman of the Social Audit Committee, described the body as a community oversight mechanism. The committee is tasked with monitoring development projects, demanding accountability from duty bearers, and encouraging citizen participation in local governance. Consultations conducted by the committee revealed several concerns, including deteriorating roads, poor drainage and sewage systems, sanitation challenges, unemployment, and incidents of student indiscipline and insecurity.
Stakeholders specifically raised concerns about the poor sanitary conditions at the Tema Community One Market, prompting the committee to select this issue as its primary project. Mr Sowah stated, "The Social Audit Committee will prioritize the issue of indiscriminate waste disposal and the poor sanitary conditions at the Tema Community One Market. That will be our first major project to tackle."
To address the sanitation issues, the committee plans to engage the Waste Management Department of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) and other relevant stakeholders. They aim to improve sanitation standards at the market. Additionally, the committee will organize community sensitization programs, town hall meetings, and media engagements to educate residents on their civic rights and responsibilities while promoting greater participation in local governance.
Mr Sowah clarified that the committee was not established to witch-hunt public officials but to promote transparency, accountability, and shared responsibility in addressing community challenges. He expressed optimism that collaboration among residents, local authorities, and state institutions would help address critical development challenges and improve living conditions within the metropolis.
The committee comprises Mr Timothy Sowah from the Tema Metropolitan Inter-Party Dialogue Committee, Ms Gifty N.A. Tetteh from the Apostolic Church Ghana, Mr Robert Mensah Gbley, Head of the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development, Ms Matilda Mensah from the Tema Market Association, Mr Fidel Bortey, Acting Director of NCCE-Tema Metro, and Ms Princessa Owusu Biney from NCCE-Tema Metro.