Highlighting that the roles of Neighbourhood Democratic Councillors are one of the most important nationally, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Sonia Parag, on Friday, urged councillors to engage their constituents.
The minister made the call on Friday during the launch of the Regional Development’s training programme for overseers and NDC Councillors which was held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.

The inaugural training programme saw the attendance of councillors and overseers from NDCs across Region Four and was aimed at strengthening the operations of local democratic organs across the country.
During her feature address, Minister Parag indicated that the training programme wasn’t birthed in a week but has been built on the trainers’ years of experience in the various areas that will be focused on.

Further to this, she indicated that President Dr. Irfaan Ali and the General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) had envisioned something like this when the party’s manifesto was crafted.
She said that the areas mentioned in the manifesto cater for the strengthening of local government bodies to manage resources and take on greater responsibilities for infrastructure in their areas and to strengthen the local organs in budget planning and preparation, financial management and accountability.

“So, this training was also crafted in a way that it captures what the manifesto wanted and what the manifesto is meant to deliver in the communities,” Parag said.
The Local Government minister said that the councillors more than anyone else would know what the needs of the community are and what would make the citizens happy and satisfied.
She went on to add that while their roles were important nationally, they aid in strengthening democracy through the local governance structure.

“And what do I mean by that, strengthening democracy and the rule of law comes from engagement with the citizens of your community, ensuring that engagement would bring about productivity that you are supposed to deliver,” she expressed.
With this, the minister told those gathered that they cannot gain or maintain confidence of their constituents if they do not appear.
As such, she expressed that the most important thing should be the people of the community in which they serve and not self-interest.

“Engagement with communities and residents is very important… come out of your offices, make visits to the community and engage with the community,” she urged.
Meanwhile, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Local Government, Miguel Choo-Kang, said that the one-day training served as part of the government’s push to enhance local governance.
Signalling the rapid growth taking place across the country, Choo-Kang indicated that there is a need to strengthen and manage the resources in all NDC’s.