Staff of Okaikwei North Municipal Assembly have undergone a two-day capacity building training program to enhance the performance of their duties. They are Finance Officers, Human Resource Managers, Development Planning, Physical Planning and Internal Auditors. The rest are Budget and Rating Officers, Works Engineers , Environmental Health Officers, Procurement Officers, Administrators, Statistics staff and Management Information Systems Staff. Speaking at the opening of the training, Mr. Kwame Brefo Boateng the Senior Planning Officer said the training is important for the staff of the Assembly. He lauded the Human Resource Department for organizing the program indicating that the topic to be treated was very important to the day to day work of the staff. According to Mr. Brefo Boateng, financial management was crucial for public sector workers to be prudent with public funds. “The training is for us to train our minds. It’s to fuse practice with theory” he added. Mr. Alhassan Muniru, a Consultant at Excel Links Consult taking the staff through Project Management and Monitoring said projects are successful when customer requirements are met with satisfaction. He said projects must be completed within the allocated time frame with the satisfaction of all parties in the project value chain. Mr. Muniru stated that in project monitoring and evaluation, people must ensure prudent use of resources and that monitoring is an ongoing process in every Assembly, stressing that there ought to be a standing monitoring team to monitor projects. Dr. Joseph Dasanah also from Excel Links in an overview of the Local Government Act noted that the Act (Act 936) underpins all activities of Assemblies. He said the Act seeks to deepen the decentralization process. Dr. Dasanah stated that the Assembly members must be a-political and that the operations of the Assembly should be in consonance with the national policy. On Financial Management, Dr. Dasanah said management of the finances of the Assembly must be guided by principles and regulations in order not for people to take advantage of the system. Opening the training for the day two, Dr. Dasanah touched on the Local Government Service protocols, scheme of service, conduct of staff, recruitment processes, penalties for offenses among others. He said such training workshops are important to prepare staff for the tasks ahead of them. Mr. Muniru who brought the training to a close also took the staff through the topic, Environmental and Social Impact assessment as a way to protect the quality of life in the environment from humans and animals. Mrs. Janet Nsenndey an Assistant Human Resource Manager was optimistic the training will impacts the service delivery of the staff of the Assembly.
