Youth Advocate Ghana (YAG), ) a youth-led non-governmental organization has commended the government’s decision to introduce the election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), describing it as a major step toward deepening local democracy and increasing youth participation in governance.
The endorsement follows the Cabinet’s approval of key decentralization reforms that will end the presidential appointment of MMDCEs and replace it with direct, non-partisan public elections.
A new local governance law to give legal effect to the reforms is expected to be laid before the Parliament of Ghana by the end of 2026.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a workshop organized under the Youth Advocacy and Participation for Electoral Transparency in Ghana (YAP-ETG) project, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of Youth Advocate Ghana, Godfred Obeng Kwakye, said the reforms would create greater opportunities for young people to actively engage in decision-making processes at the local level, strengthen accountability, improve grassroots governance, and encourage more young people to take an interest in governance.
The two-day workshop, held under the YAP-ETG initiative and supported by WYDE Civic Engagement, brought together women and youth from the Ayensuano and Nsawam-Adoagyiri districts in the Eastern Region.
“So we realised that there’s low representation and participation from the youth when it comes to issues pertaining to elections in our various districts, especially here in Nsawam and the Ayensuano community. And also we realised that it is due to certain capacity gaps, they lack the requisite skills that is needed to fully engage in such activities. Therefore, this workshop seeks to equip them with such skills in election observations and give them some advocacy skills needed to be able to fully engage in such activities” Godfred Obeng Kwakye, Monitoring and Valuation Officer, YAG.
One of the facilitators, Dr. Nana Kwasi Boateng, Ayensuano District Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), emphasized the need for continuous civic education to equip young people with the knowledge and skills required to participate meaningfully in governance and democratic processes
“The youth are many as compared to the adults and there’s a saying that children are the future leaders and they have to take part in any decision-making. So we encourage the youth.They’ve shifted all their attention to sports, Manchester United, Barcelona, Chelsea, but it is also a good thing. But we’re encouraging them that they should take part in elections, they should participate. When things are not going well, they should voice out their grievances”. Said Dr. Nana Kwasi Boateng, Ayensuano District Director, NCCE.
The programme forms part of a broader effort to enhance the participation, empowerment and inclusion of women, young people and the vulnerable in democratic processes.
Participants received training on democracy and democratic values, Ghana’s electoral processes, and election observation principles and methodologies on the first day of the workshop.
The second day focused on youth advocacy and accountability, digital campaigns, leveraging technology for civic engagement, and designing effective digital advocacy campaigns.
Participants commended Youth Advocate Ghana for the workshop stating that it has enlightened them and built their capacity in strategic ways of participating in democratic governance.
Some also hailed commitment by government to elect MMDCEs. “I think it’s a good initiative. That will help the youth because looking at the current situation now, they are being appointed and if they are being appointed, it’s less participation of the youth because if you need to be participating in this particular kind of positions, then you have to be affiliated to a particular political party. But when the law is being intended and the law is being passed, I believe that it will encourage more of the youth to take part in district level” a participant said.
The project is being implemented by Youth Advocate Ghana in partnership with Democracy Reporting International and is supported by the European Commission, EU Partnerships, and the European Partnership for Democracy.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
