Accra: Women CBO leaders empowered to track development projects, demand accountability in Northern Ghana: A total of sixty women-led Community-Based Organisation (CBO) leaders from three Districts in the Northern Region have undergone intensive training on accountability, project monitoring and expenditure tracking to strengthen citizens' participation in local governance and climate-responsive development.
According to Ghana News Agency, the participants, drawn from the Mion, Nanumba South, and Kumbungu Districts, attended the training organized by the Savannah Women Integrated Development Agency (SWIDA Ghana). With financial and technical backing from the Co-water implemented Strengthening Investments in Gender Responsive Climate Adaptation (SIGRA) project funded by Global Affairs Canada, the initiative aimed to equip the leaders with practical skills necessary for engaging duty-bearers and monitoring development commitments within their districts.
This capacity-building program was part of a larger budget consultation and citizen engagement effort under the SIGRA project, focusing on promoting inclusive participation in district planning, budgeting, expenditure tracking, and accountability processes. The training included women leaders, youth representatives, and Persons with Disabilities, all of whom were educated on community advocacy, participatory governance mechanisms, project monitoring, and expenditure tracking to enhance service delivery and climate resilience in their communities.
Hajia Alima Sagito-Saeed, Executive Director of SWIDA Ghana, highlighted the significance of empowering women and vulnerable groups to actively monitor development interventions. She emphasized that such empowerment ensures community priorities are addressed through transparent and accountable implementation processes. She also introduced the 'Issues Tracker' tool, developed by SWIDA Ghana, which aids communities in identifying, documenting, monitoring, and following up on development concerns and commitments.
District Development Officers from the participating districts provided presentations on priority interventions from their Medium-Term Development Plans, outlining progress, challenges, and the need for stronger collaboration between communities and local authorities. In the Mion District, focus was on climate-smart agriculture and women's economic empowerment, while the Kumbungu District addressed socio-cultural barriers limiting women's participation in governance. Mr. Ibrahim Mohammed from Nanumba South District emphasized the importance of community involvement in environmental protection and youth participation in local development planning.
Mr. Ibrahim Sawei, Kumbungu District Secretary of the Federation of Disability Organizations, praised SWIDA Ghana and the SIGRA project for fostering an inclusive platform that allows vulnerable groups to actively contribute to local development discussions.