The Oti Regional Coordinating Council (ORCC) and the Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) Tuesday November 19th 2024 signed the 2025 performance contract as mandated by the Office of the Head of Local Government Service (OHLGS).
During the ceremony, the district Coordinating Directors and the MDAs signed for their respective assemblies whilst the Regional Minister and the Chief Director of the region also signed on behalf of the Council.Read More
The Oti Regional Minister, Daniel Machstor, speaking at the performance contract signing ceremony, described the move as foundational exercise that underscores ORCC’s commitment to excellence in local governance and service delivery.
The event, he said is guided by the mandate of the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936), which establishes a framework for decentralized governance and the effective management of our Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs).
“The performance contracts we sign today serve as a benchmark for accountability, a tool for performance evaluation, and a road map for achieving developmental priorities,” he said.
According to him, performance contracts are not mere formalities but represent a mutual agreement between the leadership of the assemblies and the government to deliver measurable results in key areas such as education, health, infrastructure, and economic development.
“It is essential to address some pressing challenges affecting the effective execution of our mandates. Reports from previous years have revealed instances of underperformance, lack of adherence to key deliverables, and inefficiencies in some assemblies. This situation cannot and will not be allowed to continue,” he noted.
He continued that consequent to the issues of non-performance of assemblies, government has outlined measures, ranging from warnings to potential terminations aimed at fostering accountability and ensuring that all staff and management perform their duties effectively.
Mr Machator urged the Municipal and District Chief Executives and Coordinating Directors not to only go about setting targets but also about inspiring your teams to achieve them.
“ I encourage you to adopt a hands-on approach, ensuring that the priorities outlined in these contracts are effectively translated into actionable outcomes,” he stated.
This, he added the Human Resource Managers also play a pivotal role in this process by implementing robust performance management systems and cultivating a culture of continuous learning, to help address underperformance before it becomes a systemic issue.
For his part, the Chief Director of ORCC, Rev. Harry Nii Kwatei Owoo, recounted how the council had received a circular from the local government directing the council to supervise the signing and submission of the performance contract.
According to him, the essence of the performance contract is for service delivery hence the staff of the local government were employed to ensure efficient service delivery to the public.
Professionalism of the staff of local government, participation of opinion leaders and other stakeholders which is key in service delivery as well as accountability to the public are the cardinal principles and standards of service delivery.
He urged transparency, efficiency, effectiveness among staff in the use of the public resources in their line of duty.
To him, it’s not only the signing of the performance contract that is important but the implementation and there is the need for all MDAs to ensure a successful implementation of the document hence the ORCC will not hesitate to punish any MDA or staff that fails to performance in their discharge of mandate.
Rev. Owoo continued that client focus is also another standard of the Local Governance and there is the need for all the clients unit of the MDAs are effectively functional.
Financial management and reporting, human resources management in terms of recruitment, posting among others as well as social service and local economic activities are key in the performance contract.
Rev. Owoo however charged the management of various assemblies to comply with the indicators in the performance contract and incorporate same in their performance contract document.
