Author: orccgov

Rev. Owoo noted that the Client Service Unit is now a recognized professional class within the Local Government Service structure, and individuals within the unit can rise through the ranks up to the position of Chief Director. He encouraged participants to remain proactive, professional, and committed to their roles, emphasizing that they serve as the first point of contact for the public and, therefore, play a vital role in shaping the image of their institutions.

The workshop was structured into 11 modules. Mr. Prince Latif Oyekunle, Assistant Director I and Head of the Central Administrative Unit, facilitated Modules 1 through to 6, which covered the Introduction, Decentralization, Client Service Management, Operational Structure & Job Description, Electronic Complaint Handling, and Compliance Monitoring. Madam Janet Sambo, Head of the Human Resource Management Unit, led participants through Modules 7 to 11. These included Procedures for Handling Visitors, Enquiries, Complaints, and Feedback, and concluded with a Wrap-Up session. Together, the facilitators delivered a comprehensive training session that addressed both policy frameworks and practical procedures to enhance client service delivery across the Local Government Service.

he day concluded with closing remarks from Rev. Harry Nii Kwatei Owoo, who expressed his appreciation for the active participation of attendees and the efforts of the facilitators. He challenged all officers to return to their respective institutions as agents of change, fully equipped to make a meaningful impact. He reminded them that positive transformation begins with individual commitment and excellence at the point of service.

The workshop reaffirmed the Oti RCC’s commitment to strengthening service delivery, with a strong focus on the quality of interactions between public institutions and citizens. It is expected that the trained officers will return better equipped to serve with excellence, professionalism, and efficiency.

The meeting served as a platform to discuss potential areas of collaboration between GIZ and the region, particularly in climate resilience, spatial data mapping, and sustainable development planning. Both parties expressed a shared commitment to deepening their partnership for the benefit of the people of Oti.

This engagement formed part of a broader initiative, including a hands-on training session organised for selected staff of the Regional Coordinating Council(RCCs), Municipal and District Assemblies(MDAs). The training which focused on climate hazards and thematic mapping, aimed at strengthening local capacity in environmental planning and disaster preparedness.

The ORCC extends its appreciation to GIZ for their continued support and looks forward to fruitful collaborations in the months ahead.

The Honorable Minister reminded them that as chief executives, they have a critical role to play in delivering the benefits of good governance to the people. He encouraged them to be innovative, proactive, and responsive to the needs of their constituents, ensuring that the dividends of democracy are equitably distributed.

He also emphasized the importance of creating job opportunities for the youth in their respective districts. As leaders, we have a responsibility to empower the next generation, equipping them with the skills and resources needed to succeed in an increasingly competitive world.

To achieve this, He encouraged the MDCEs to collaborate with stakeholders, including traditional leaders, opinion leaders, and the private sector, to identify and support initiatives that promote youth employment and entrepreneurship.

In conclusion, Hon. John Kwadwo Gyapong charged the MDCEs to remain committed to our party’s values of social justice, equality, and prosperity for all. Let us work together to build a better future for Ghana, a future that is bright, prosperous, and just for all citizens.

The ultimate is to RESET OTI together!

               “𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒈𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒎 𝒘𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒈𝒆. 𝑨 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔—𝒊𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒅, 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚.”

Quoting an excerpt from the Minister’s written speech, Rev. Owoo emphasized, “𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍-𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔.”

Another dignitary who graced the occasion was the newly confirmed District Chief Executive of the Biakoye District Assembly. In his seasonal greetings, he encouraged workers to align with President John Dramani Mahama’s renewed vision to reset the nation, calling for shared commitment and discipline across departments:

“As we embark on this national reset, let us position ourselves not just as employees but as enablers of transformation. The President’s vision requires our full engagement.”

In a passionate speech, Mr. Francis Apawu, Chairman of the Oti Regional Chapter of the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG), emphasized the urgent need to reevaluate pay structures and improve working conditions. He said:

               “Inflation, high cost of living, and poor retention of skilled workers call for a complete reset. We urge government to act swiftly, ensuring fair salaries, safer workplaces, and better career growth opportunities.”

He also called on MDAs to settle outstanding transfer grants and reset regional promotion processes, urging all stakeholders to collaborate in building a motivated and productive workforce.

A major highlight of the day was the Best Staff Awards, which recognized exceptional workers from each of the nine districts of the region. The 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 was presented to none other than 𝐑𝐞𝐯. 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐍𝐢𝐢 𝐊𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐢 𝐎𝐰𝐨𝐨, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐭𝐢 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥, for his outstanding contributions and exemplary leadership throughout the year under review.

The awards, which visibly boosted morale among workers, were made possible through the generous sponsorship of various Assemblies, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MDCEs), and Members of Parliament (MPs) in the region.

Closing the celebration, Mr. John Mensin Mframah, District Coordinating Director for Krachi Nchumuru District Assembly and Chairman of the occasion, lauded the enthusiasm of the participants and encouraged all staff to give their utmost to reset the Oti Region.

“Let’s embrace every district posting as an opportunity. Oti is rich in potential, peaceful, and welcoming. Let’s build it together.”

The 2025 May Day Celebration in Chinderi will be remembered not just for its festivities, but for its unifying message: that Oti’s progress is tied to the dignity and empowerment of its workforce.

The engagement brought together representatives from various departments within the region and municipal assembly. It served as a platform to pre-test data collection tools for the terminal evaluation. The meeting was held at the conference room of the Oti Regional Coordinating Council on April 29, 2025.

“Our conflict is not about chieftaincy disputes or land disputes; the parties would have sought redress from the legitimate authorities,” he said.

The chief explained that the development started as a result of a festival which had always been celebrated until the unscrupulous individuals decided to disagree.

He revealed how some criminal gangs are making monies from the shooting and killing and burning houses in the area and proposed a neutral body to engage both parties.

He blamed the law enforcement agencies for not providing enough security to protect lives and properties in the area.

He proposed to the minister to summon the parties involved in the matter for a roundtable discussion to allow all to bring their grievances to bring to the disturbances to a logical conclusion for peace to prevail.

The Regional Minister, Hon John Kwadwo Gyapong, lauded the chiefs for calling on him and commended them for their efforts towards peace building in the area.

He indicated that elders are not much involved in the disturbances but the youth. He observed the presence of enough security personnel would have averted the challenges.

Hon. Gyapong assured the chiefs of his commitment to taking steps to resolve the conflict in Nkwanta South Municipality to allow peace and tranquillity.

He said the recent development is a disgrace to the municipality and needed to be looked at with speed.

He recounted how investors from Netherlands had expressed interest in executing project in Nkwanta South but had to withdraw their interest due to the disturbance in the area.

He said the conflict is derailing the development of the area and called on both parties to lay down their arms and smoke the peace pipe.

He observed “if the observation of a festival would disturb the peace of the area and lead to loss of lives, then the chiefs should cease the festival celebrations. We’ll not allow festival to bring down development in Nkwanta; festivals are rather meant to bring development.  I will convene a congress for all youth in Nkwanta for the sake of peace in the area” he said.

He announced that the conflict had taken a heavy toll on the resources of the Municipal Assembly making it extremely difficult for the Assembly to honour her commitments.

Present at the engagement included the Oti Regional Coordinating Director, Rev Harry Nii Kwatei Owoo, Nkwanta South Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Joseph Antwi, and some other staff of the Coordinating Council. The rest are, Nana Bayan Asanyo III, Bamuhene of Akyode Traditional Area; Okyeame Dare Kwaku, Okyeame Anasan Kyerewura, Nkwanta Queen mother, Nana Atabaso Obonmelesu; Abrewankor Junction Queen mother, Nana Atogesen; Nana Atabaso Anetoge and Peter Ntasah, Akyode National Youth president.

He however called on the gazetted members of the house to expedite actions in resolving the remaining chieftaincy disputes in the region.

He explained that in time past, the people of Oti region had been fighting for a region of its own but had achieved their ambition and there is the need for them to come together to build the region together for development.

Hon. Gyapong reiterated the commitment of government to complete the regional house of chief offices project across the newly calved out regions across the country.

“Chieftaincy disputes are real, we as politicians can not interfere in chieftaincy matters but to support the chiefs in peace building,” he said.

Through Big Push programme,  the Minister  mentioned that government made a budgetary allocation for the construction of bridge over Oti river in Dambai and works will soon commence to open up the region for easy access for transportation and bring development in the region.

He said the contractors are been asked to return to site for the construction of Kpassa – Nkwanta eastern corridor roads and work will soon commence.

Hon. Gyapong informed the chiefs that government is committed in establishing irrigation project in the region and works is expected to commence by May this year.

He said government will also build a water treatment plant project in Dambai to ensure portable drinking water is available for the all in the region.

For his part, the Oti Regional House of Chiefs President, Nana Soglo Alloh IV informed the minister that there are about 26 members of the Regional House of Chiefs which includes 26 traditional areas but the active members of the house are 14 with the rest facing chieftaincy litigation and yet to be gazetted.

He pleaded with minister to ensure the ORCC allocate budget for house of chiefs to run its activities adding that their office had been given two vehicles including a land cruiser and a pickup but one of vehicles had accident and need to be replaced.

The Chiefs congratulated the minister for his nomination and charged government to expedite development in peaceful areas and leave conflict prone areas.

For Kadjebi Akan, the president of the house said has about eight (8) paramount chiefs and are members of the house but five (5) chiefs are not active members because of the chieftaincy disputes.

The chiefs bemoaned the lack of consultation of traditional leaders on the appointment of government appointee assembly members in each district.

The President of the house told the Minister that paramount chiefs from traditional areas including Akpafo, Dapaa, Pampawie, Papase, Nchumuru, Asato, Kadjebi,  Buem Bowiri, Worawora and Pia-Katanga were not represented in the house following disputes in the areas.

Present at the engagement meeting includes the President of the Oti RHC Nana Soglo Alloh IV; Vice president, Nana Obonbo Sewurah Lupuwura II; Nana Mprah Besemuna III, Okoforobour Baffour Kwame Asante II, Okogyeaman Kwasi Asiedu Korum II, Dasebre Oduro-Guranim I, Nana Odam Gyamfi III, and Nana Tidibo Kowura Odamba II.

In introducing the Regional Minister, the Regional Coordinating Director (RCD), Rev Harry Nii Kwatei Owoo noted that the minister assumed office about four months ago and have been able to cover the antinary of the ORCC as part of his job schedule.

The Minister, he said is the fourth Minister in the regional and his outfit was the seventh RCD and underscored the need to cooperate with the Minister to work with him.

To RCD, the Minister is workaholic and is however determined to enhance the face of the ORCC to stem the development of the region.

In his remarks the minister indicated that his outfit was expected to meet about 75 staff but 44 staff were present hence the need to prospone the meeting until the absent staff were present.

He lamented how some heads of the department were engaged in accepting permission from subordinates without the approval of the Regional coordinating Council.

He noted that he had prior information that most of the staff of ORCC were afraid to speak adding that the institution was not properly run and lacks discipline.

The Minister directed the management of the ORCC to give a query to staff who failed to attend the staff durbar.

The Minister posed several questions to the staff such as, “What is wrong,  why are you not serious with your work and why are you not encouraged to work?”

To staff, lack of motivation, unfair treatment and witch-hunting of staff, lack of inclusiveness in the management, ineffective line of authority and chain of command, poor sanitation practice, and lack of priority of staff at office.

He encouraged the staff to speak up and shun the bureaucracy and bad practice of the leadership which he said will continue to affect the productivity of the council.

Hon. Gyapong reiterated that his outfit was not interested in intimidating political opponents but to bring them closure hence his reason of not transferring the staff from the council to the assemblies.

He said his outfit cannot afford to loose Oti region for anybody hence his forefathers will not forgive him and anybody with the attempt to joke with Oti region’s development will not have it easy.

The Minister admonished the staff to reassess themselves to resume their work properly before he begins to show colours by cracking the whips on the staff.

He assured the staff and management of the ORCC of his commitment to work and transform the region.

Hon. Gyapong charged the staff to report directly to him issues that affects productivity and their well-being to be addressed promptly.

During the engagement, the management of the ORCC indicated that the issues of inadequate staff in the region is a challenge adding that some of the staff were been posted as punishment which is hindering service delivery.

They explained that healthcare is a serious concern hence the region has not enough health facilities, Poor transport and bad transportation network hence staff within the region are compelled to move from one place to another to get access to transportation to their destination, according to the management.

For sanitation and waste management, the heads of departments recommended that the contract between the MMDAs and the Zoomlion, a subsidiary of the Jospong Group of companies be reviewed to allow the assemblies to manage its waste.

According to them, prior to the contract with ZoomLion, MMDAS were employing laborer’s to ensure sanitation in their catchment areas. They bemoaned the prevalence of typhoid in the region due to the consumption of contaminated water and environmental pollution in the region.

He explained that although the targets and development goals are set up by the central government to the local assemblies with different characteristics, the Jasikan Municipality has been a to implement a smart governance system for a sustainable development in the area.

The management bemoaned political interference for underpinning development for their lack of tolerance to work with some civil servants but rather prefer to gag or transfer them to where their services are not needed.

He continued that untimely release of district assembly common fund to champion development is also another challenge that affect Municipality from achieving its goals. Team leader of the group, Commodore Ben Abdul mentioned that the team was conducting a research study as part of academic work and the motive was not to interrogate or audit the activities of the assembly.

The team is made up of the Commandant of the college, supporting staff and the participants referred to as students, he said.

According to him, the college was established somewhere 2024 with the aim to train or provide strategic leadership training for the participants. He continued that first batch of the college had graduated and the participants are not only for the military but also sister security agencies across the country and Africa and the World at large.

He indicated that the idea of the research was to engage the stakeholders contributing to sustainable development and the role they play in ensuring smooth growth in SMART governance. He admonished the staff of the Jasikan Municipal Assembly not to hesitate to share with the team their experience and expertise to the participants in their cause of eliciting information on how smart governance is been implemented in the municipality.

The group leader alluded that the programme is deared to the heart of government hence will provide a policy framework to government with the recommendations on how to implement smart governance to ensure sustainable development.

The college, according to the team is seated at the strategic place and does not liaise with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) directly but the ministry it falls under, adding that their recommendations will be presented to the supervisory ministry to tackle the issues of power outages in the region.

The research team commended the management of the ORCC for their steadfast and the resource persons designated to provide data for their  research project.

Present at the engagement were various heads of departments of the Oti Regional Coordinating Council,  staff and participants of the National College of Defence Studies.

The Minister urged parents to prioritise education over child labour, highlighting the long-term benefits of education in improving the lives of children and their families.

The Oti Region has a high incidence of child labour, particularly in fishing and cocoa communities, where children are often engaged in hazardous work that compromises their health and education.

The “My Rights, My Future” project aims to strengthen child protection committees, support teachers and schools, and engage parents and community leaders in promoting positive social norms and advocating for better laws to protect children.

Mr Gyapong has assured the “My Rights, My Future” project of the Oti Regional Coordinating Council (ORCC) support in combating child labour and trafficking.

In a closed engagement with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), the Minister pledged to work closely with the ORCC to ensure the success of the project in the three selected Municipal and District Assemblies.

In his solidarity message, the Oti Regional Minister, Hon. John Kwadwo Gyapong whipped the Assembly members to rally behind the nominee by giving him a unanimous endorsement.

He bemoaned how some members of the party made a press conference threatening the party hierarchy for lack of appointment in their tribe, and urged the aggrieved party supporters to exercise patience as government will soon shine on them.

He called on the leaders of Ntroubo to call the organisers of the press conference to order and failure to, will mean that his outfit have be ejected from the Ntroubo tribe of the Nkwanta south.

Mr Gyapong underscored the need for the people of the Nkwanta south municipality to embrace unity of purpose to bring peace and security in order for sustainable socio-economic growth.

The Minister encouraged the assembly members to vote massively to acclaim the president’s nominee to propel development in the area.

On his part, the Member of Parliament (MP), Hon Geoffrey Kini, thanked the president for his goodwill of nominating a candidate with the interest to articulate the mission and the vision of the government.

He indicated that the role of a leader is important and cannot be estimated hence it is eminent for the people of Nkwanta South Municipality to have a leader.

He described the nominee, Joseph Antwi, as humble, respectful, committed, and a servant leader and his experience will enable him discharge his duties diligently and called on the members to take queue from other Assemblies acclaim the nominee.

Presiding Member for Nkwanta South, Hon Edward Yilengne, urged the Assembly members to make a decision that will have a positive impact on the Nkwanta south municipality.

He indicated that the members of the municipality have an emblem of unity and are poised to make decision that reflects the interest of their various communities in the electoral areas.

Prior to the confirmation, some 13 government appointee assembly members were sworn into office to augment the elected members to facilitate the confirmation of the MCE nominee.

In his acceptance remarks, the new MCE, commended the President John Dramani Mahama for entrusting in him the confidence and promised to align with the reset agenda of government.

He pledged to uphold a zero tolerance for crime but promote peace and development to ensure sustainable growth rate in the Municipality.

Mr Antwi indicated that peace does not mean the absence of war but justice and accountability. He said the was the need for collaboration between institutions to champion sustainable agriculture and agroprocessing to create jobs.

He called for innovative solutions to inspire partnerships to bring development to the forefront of the municipality and government at large.

The new MCE served the party in various capacities such as the Nkwanta south constituency Communications officer and the director of elections for the party earning him the opportunity to be nominated into his current position.

Present at the confirmation event were the regional minister, Hon. John Kwadwo Gyapong, regional and constituency executives of the party, Nkwanta South Member of Parliament, Hon. Geoffrey Kini, Chief Director of ORCC, Rev Harry Nii Kwatei Owoo and ORCC entourage, traditional leaders and the staff of the Nkwanta south Municipal Assembly as well as some party faithful’s.

He championed a peace and unity for purpose campaign arguing that the role of the MDCEs in the region is to fast track development and promote sustainable socio-economic activities in their respective localities.

The Oti Regional Minister Hon John Kwadwo Gyapong in his remarks said he has seen unity in the PM election and appealed to the members to also vote hundred percent for the MCE nominee just as Krachi East and Krachi Nchumuru respectively.

For his part, the Municipality Coordinating Director for the assembly in his speech lamented on their inability to get a presiding Member last year and urged the members to demonstrate to the Oti Region and Ghana that they are capable of addressing their own challenges by electing a PM today to aid the confirmation of the MCE nominee.

He appealed to members to approach this election and confirmation process with fairness and respect and remember that the people of Krachi West Municipal are united by their shared goals of serving the best interest of their electoral areas.

The Members of Parliament for Krachi West, Hon. Ntoso Hellen spoke to the assembly members about of the party’s vision of resetting the nation and Krachi West Municipal Assembly and thanked the stakeholders for their efforts in the 2024 general elections.

Conclusively, the members declared a popular acclamation for the MCE nominee Mr Prosper Kwaku Addo as the MCE for Krachi West Municipal Assembly.

After the acclamation, the Krachi West MCE Prosper Kwaku Addo in his acceptance remarks said he was going to be a servant to the people of Krachi West Municipality and not just an MCE and appealed to the assembly members to assist him in every aspect of the assembly business in order to deliver.

Present there were the Oti Regional Minister Hon John Kwadwo Gyapong, Oti Regional Coordinating Director Rev. Harry Nii Kwatei Owoo, Krachi wura Nana Mprah Besemuna 111 of Krachi Traditional Council, NDC Regional party executives, some heads of departments from ORCC, staff of Krachi West Municipal Assembly.

At the event the confirmation of the DCE, Nkwanta North Member of Parliament (MP), Hon. John Oti Bless, urged the Assembly members to prioritize unity among themselves in order to confirm the DCE nominee unanimously to ensure progressive development and prosecution of government’s setting the country agenda in the district.

He appealed to the people of Nkwanta North District to unite and support DCE nominee Mr Kudjo Dordoe Isaiah to develop the district if confirmed.

For his part, the Oti Regional Minister Hon John Kwadwo Gyapong whipped the Assembly members to do away with all kinds sentiments and confirm the DCE nominee with hundred percent votes as Krachi East and West did, for the sake of the development of the District.

He pleaded with the chiefs and people of Nkwanta North District to support Mr Isaiah Dordoe Kudjo to develop the district.

During the confirmation, a total of 22 electorates were eligible to vote and the end of polls, DCE nominee, Isaiah Dordoe Kudjo secured a unanimous confirmation.

In his acceptance speech, the DCE thanked members for reposing confidence in him with an overwhelming victory of twenty two of twenty two votes representing hundred percent. He assured the people and major stakeholders in the District of commitment to champion sustainable socio-economic development in the district.

Present there were the Oti Regional Minister Hon John Kwadwo Gyapong, Oti Regional Coordinating Director Rev. Harry Nii Kwatei Owoo, The representative of Ubor Konja Tassan VI, paramount chief of Kpassa Traditional Area, NDC’s Constituency and Regional party executives, some heads of departments from ORCC, staff of Nkwanta North District Assembly.

For his part, the Presiding Member welcomed the Assembly members and briefed the house of the constitutional requirement that warrants assembly members to confirm president MCE nominee after the Magistrate of Dambai Magistrate court, his wardship Alhassan Dramani has successfully sworn in the government appointed assembly members.

He urged the members to serve their various electoral areas diligently to ensure development and act in the best of the municipality. Appealed to his colleague members to vote massively for the MCE nominee.

The member of parliament for Krachi East Municipal Hon. Nelson Kofi Djabab in his remarks said, the article 243 of the 1992 constitution mandates to have MCE and God been good, president has nominated the party secretary who will be confirmed today.

He appealed to the Assembly members to vote hundred percent for the MCE nominee Mr Safo Nketia to help him since he will be busy at the parliament.

He ended his remarks by urging members not to break the chain of confirmation that started last week at Jasikan and Guan Districts.

After the election, Mr Safo Nketia pulled thirty (30) votes out thirty (30) representing hundred percent 100% of the total members of thirty.

The sub-theme of the ERST-GHANA is “Linkages between SMART Governance and Sustainable Development in the Greater Accra, Western and Oti Regions.”

In his welcome address, the Chief Director of ORCC, Rev Harry Nii Kwatei Owoo explained that soldiers are responsible to protect and defend the country from external aggression as well as maintain peace and security. He mentioned that the main vision is to gather information to help build strong Intel to improve the implementation of smart systems to ensure peace and security in the region.

He reiterated the commitment of the ORCC to facilitate the data collection of the participants aimed at helping government to implement sufficient policies in the right direction to aimed smart governance.

During a presentation, the team was informed the region is partly covered with water and there are some specific areas in the region that can not be accessed without crossing water bodies. He continued that the region’s topography is made of high and low lands with numerous water bodies and hard to reach communities in the region.

He added that Agriculture plays a vital role in the socio-economic development of the region comprising 80% of the economic activities in the region with food crops as major crops cultivated in the region.

The first leg was to pick three regions in Ghana and go round to gather information, pick out Africa to explore same and go out of Africa to acquire similar information to bring them together to conclude the research work. He said the regions are been picked with different characteristics to see how they use the smart governance to help address the issues.

During a courtesy call on the the Tradional Leadership in Dambai, the Commandant of the National College of Defence Studies, Major General Irvine Nii-Ayitey Aryeetey, expressed appreciation for the overwhelming welcome to the team adding that the team was on a research mission.

According to him, the military has a lot of schools and training programmes for students and the National College of Defence Studies is the highest in Ghana. This, he said most people in the school are of age and are been trained to take leadership mantle in the near future.

He continued that the group is made of one-third of the students population and other groups are at some other regions conducting similar research works.

This group, he said focuses on how government can improve governance through smart systems to enhance development and accountability in the country.

After this research, he explained participants will in three months embark on a trip to three African countries understudy their governance compared to Ghana and will also be visiting some other countries outside African continent before concluding the research activities to make recommendations for government to implement good governance principles.

For their part, the traditional leaders urged the research team to feel free to conduct their research without fear and reiterated commitment to support in the course of the data collection.

They called on the research team to prioritise their personal security and underscored the need for a military camp in the area to ensure peace and security in the area.

The chiefs bemoaned the lack of military presence in the region, stating that some lands were given to government for the siting of military depot and some 100 soldiers were posted in the region.

According to the Chief, although the region was colonised by the Germans who knows the rightful owner, but land ownerships have become a problem causing tribal conflict or land disputes in the area.

They therefore admonished the team to expand their scope of study to do detailed research on land ownership to recommend to government measures to put in place to end the menace of land ownership.

The chiefs stated that they play a crucial role in the implementation and enforcement of by-laws to bring peace and security in the region.

To promote governance and cooperation, the chiefs said clan chiefs had been enskinned to ensure delegation of powers in the local and traditional governance.