The Executive Director of Advocates for Community Alternatives (ACA), a non-governmental organization, Jonathan Kaufman, has toured some communities in Nkoranza South in the Bono East Region and Abuakwa South in the Eastern Region of Ghana to touch base with local government authorities as well as interact with community members.
Accompanied by Nana Ama Nketia-Quaidoo, ACA’s Director of Community-Driven Development (CDD), the Executive Director visited Asuano, Johnkrom and Nkwabeng in Nkoranza South as well as Abesim Yeboah and Ntabea in Abuakwa South. These five communities are part of the cohort three communities implementing the Facilitated Collective Action Process (FCAP), also called Oman yie die.
$8,000 microgrant
In partnership with their respective local authorities, ACA is supporting each of these communities with $8,000 microgrant to execute various life-changing development projects, which are at various stages of construction.
At Asuano, for instance, the community is putting up a three-unit Junior High School classroom block with an ICT laboratory, teachers’ common room and headteacher’s office while their compatriots at Johnkrom are using their microgrant to construct a gari processing and milling center.
The story of Nkwabeng demonstrates a high level of commitment and determination to see remarkable improvement in health care delivery in the community as the people have expanded the initial scope of their plan to put up an Out-Patient Department (OPD) of their local health center. They are poised to mobilize additional funding of over $2,000 to construct a 24-room block for their health center to facilitate the process of upgrading it to a poly clinic upon completion.
In the Abuakwa South Municipality in the Eastern Region, Ntabea and Abesim Yeboah are constructing a three-unit teachers’ accommodation and a black soap production centre.
As part of the ACA visits, officials held separate discussions with the Nkoranza South Municipal Chief Executive, Godfred Dapaah and Mr. Amo Johnson Anom, the Atiwa West District Chief Executive.
Enthusiasm
In an interview after the visit, Jonathan Kaufman expressed his satisfaction with the levels of enthusiasm and participation of community members, chiefs and local assembly staff assigned to the various projects.
“I also witnessed two accountability exercises in which FCAP Executives gave details to their communities about the expenditures and purchases they had made. This level of transparency was very heartening and set a high standard for community development projects in Ghana.”
Local gov’t participation
“I also want to recognize the very proactive attitudes of the two Chief Executives I met Godfred Dapaah, the Municipal Chief Executive at Nkoranza South, was very well briefed on our projects, was planning to ensure that the local government pays its share of the microgrants and had become deeply involved as a problem solver for difficulties our communities have faced in dealing with various government departments. For example, he was instrumental in unblocking Forestry Commission authorization for our communities to fell a limited number of trees to obtain the wood needed for roofing.”
The Executive Director commended the DCE for Atiwa West, Amo Johnson Anom, for his problem-solving attitude.
“While we visited his office, he brokered a meeting between the conflicting parties in one of our communities and insisted they bury the hatchet for the good of community development. He had also personally donated materials to supplement the microgrant for one of our community projects, demonstrating a real commitment to the well-being of the people of his District.”
Internal resource mobilization
For her part, Nana Ama Nketia-Quaidoo, ACA’s Director of CDD, said it was worth noting that in just about two months into the implementation stage, most of the projects under cohort three have provided roofing for their buildings and hailed the internal resource mobilization efforts by those communities.
She mentioned rainstorms and leadership challenges as some of the challenges militating against the smooth continuation of projects in some communities.
