Action plan – Tamale, Ghana, 2025 – 2028

At-a-Glance

Duration

Dec 2028

Date Submitted

19th May 2025

Foreword(s)

The Tamale Metropolitan Assembly in collaboration with Northern Accelerated Intervention for Development (lead for the CSOs) organised this action plan for the metropolis. The action plan outlines the specific steps and resources required to achieve our goal of open governance partnership  by October, 2028. It serves as a road-map for our team, ensuring that we stay focused and on track to deliver effective synergies for effective participation and inclusionOGP participating governments are working to create governments that truly serve all people. Commitments in this area may address persons with disabilities, women and girls, lesbian, gay, bisexual, tr... More in  the governance process. By implementing the actions detailed herein, we aim to make governance accessible to the citizens of Tamale.

The citizens in the Metropolis which is cosmopolitan are increasingly becoming aware of the need to demand for their share of the national cake. This demand has brought to bear on the Assembly which requires much more attention to cooperate with people.

Chapter 20, section 240(e) of the 1992 Constitution and section 40 of the Local Governance Act of Ghana, 2016, ACT 936 oblige Metropolitan/Municipal/District Assemblies to ensure accountability, inclusion and openness in the delivery of services  to the people. The law affords the citizenry the opportunity to participate effectively in governance and promote an inclusive society based on public official accountability and responsiveness

Tamale Metropolitan Assembly is desirous in strengthening the open government values of accountability, transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More, public participationGiving citizens opportunities to provide input into government decision-making leads to more effective governance, improved public service delivery, and more equitable outcomes. Technical specificatio... and inclusion by empowering the citizenry to demand development in their jurisdictions

The stakeholder committee considered strongly the best way of harnessing useful contribution or  information from a varied expertise for the co-creation processCollaboration between government, civil society and other stakeholders (e.g., citizens, academics, private sector) is at the heart of the OGP process. Participating governments must ensure that a dive.... Among the groups met for the exercise include Waste Management Unit, Ghana EducationAccountability within the public education system is key to improving outcomes and attainment, and accountability is nearly impossible without transparent policies and opportunities for participation ... Service, Environmental Health and Sanitation Unit, Ghana Health Service, Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Forestry Division, Agricultural Department, Market Association and Community groups.

Open Government Challenges, Opportunities and Strategic Vision

What is the long-term vision for open government in your context and jurisdiction?

The Assembly intends to leverage on the open government initiative to improve service delivery for the citizenry especially in the area of water, sanitation, health, education, agriculture, revenue mobilization and utilization through effective citizens participation as well as promoting the rights of people living with disabilities(PWDs) and other vulnerable groups.

The project seeks to create a platform for the Assembly and the citizenry to have openness in the governance process and to learn and share ideas, experiences for the smooth administration of the area. The establishment of good relationship would deters doubts and suspicion in the administration which would ensure effective monitoring thereby enhancing transparency, accountability and public participation of the stakeholders and citizens for sustainability.

What are the achievements in open government to date (for example, recent open government reforms)?

The Assembly has over the years been successful in the implementation of Open Government reforms among them is the preparation of Popular Participation Action Plan, the conduct of Public Budget Hearing Sessions, Social AccountabilityTransparency of public service delivery is not enough on its own; giving citizens opportunities to monitor progress on the ground and hold their governments accountable improves the quality of these s... and Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation.

One major achievement of the Assembly in Open Governance was its ability to develop Popular Participation Action Plans for 2021 and 2022. These plans anticipated key activities of the Assembly, their respective audience and identified activities tailored towards their engagement. Though an elaborate plan most of the activities remained in the plan and not executed.

The Assembly on Annual basis conducted Public Hearing on its Annual Budgets which exposes the budgeted items to the public. Although the level of participation in the Public Hearing has been low, it affords the Assembly the opportunity to display its activities to some selected key stakeholders.

The Assembly has also been conducting the Public AccountabilityAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, public accountability occurs when ”rules, regulations, and mechanisms in place call upon government actors to justify their actions, act upon criticisms ... More Forums using the Public Financial Management Template. This gives the Assembly the opportunity to show to the public the planned activities in the year as well as the expenditure of the previous year. The forum also offer the Assembly the opportunity to show its planned activities for the year and the progress of implementation of past plans. At these forums which are organized two times a year, the public ask questions about the Assembly’s expenditure.

What are the current challenges/areas for improvement in open government that the jurisdiction wishes to tackle?

• Inadequate broader citizens consultation in the planning and implementation of development projects and programmes
• Planning and implementation of development projects and programmes do not take much cognizance of the people involvement in the development process. The process is largely skewed to the Assembly without broader consultations of the people.
• General dissatisfaction of the citizenry in service delivery in the areas of  water, sanitation, health, agriculture, revenue generation and utilization and education
• There is largely general dissatisfaction with the provision of water, sanitation, health, agriculture, revenue generation and utilization and education which has created apathy for payment of revenue, high incidence of theft in water and electricity, low performance in education
• Weak information flow from the Assembly to the local communities
• There has not been robust information flow from the Assembly to the  communities on issues of development, this usually saddles the Assembly from getting useful information from the public
• Weak and ineffective revenue mobilization drive: The metropolis has a huge revenue generation potential but for the Assembly ‘s inability to create strategic revenue system and mobilization drive it loses so much revenue. This could create an avenue for bad nuts in the Assembly to exploit the system which results in low revenue output.
• Inadequate digitization of revenue sources, collection and management

What are the medium-term open government goals that the government wants to achieve?

The medium-term, Government goal on OGP aims to create opportunities for all, safeguard the environment, maintain a stable society, and build a prosperous nation. This is outlined in the 2022-2025 National Medium Term Policy Framework (NMTDPF).

The medium term open governnent goals that the government intend to achieve through the metropolitan Assembly include the following:

• Improve participatory planning and budgeting
  • Undertake local level capacity buildingEnhancing the skills, abilities, and processes of public servants, civil society, and citizens is essential to achieving long-lasting results in opening government. Technical specifications: Set of ac... for participatory planning budgeting monitoring and evaluation systems through training workshops and interface meetings
• Create platforms for transparency inclusion and participation
• Local communities are aware and participate in Assembly’s socio-economic development activities recognising stakeholder representation such as men women, children and people living with disabilities in its area of operation.
• Infrastructure delivery and efficient management of resources

The District Assembly Common Fund(DACF) and internally generated fund are equitably applied to the development of beneficiary communities. Effectively utilization of resources to the benefit of women, children and people living with disabilities.

Promoting accountability:

• Create appropraite platforms for civil society, media, traditional authorities and other stakeholders in development process to hold duty bearers to account for their stewardship

How does this action plan contribute to achieve the Open Government Strategic Vision?

The vision of the Assembly is to make it more operational by laying a solid foundation for effective implementation of projects and programmes which aims at empowering the citizenry to ensure equitable development in the Metropolis

The action plan will contribute to fostering trust, ensure transparency, accountability,  public participation and inclusion and technology and innovation through citizen’s engagement in line with open government strategic vision.

How does the open government strategic vision contribute to the accomplishment of the current administration’s overall policy goals?

The overall policy goals of the current administration as detailed in Ghana’s 2022 – 2025 National Medium-Term Development Policy Framework (NMTDPF) dubbed “The Agenda for Jobs; Creating Prosperity and Equal Opportunity for All”  seeks to Create opportunities for all Ghanaians; Safeguard the natural environment and ensure a resilient, built environment; Maintain a stable, united and safe society; and Build a prosperous society.

The NMTDPF which is also linked to the attainment of the Sustainable Development GoalsOGP countries are experimenting with open government innovations to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 16+ which includes peaceful, just and inclusive societies... (SDGs), guides the preparation and implementation of policies, programmes, and projects at the local level by the Tamale Metropolis Assembly.

The open governance strategic vision would contribute to

• Improving Assembly relationship with the citizenry by engaging them in regular sensitization activities on government policies and programme, resource mobilization and utilization, transparency in budgeting,  monitoring and evaluation and reporting
• Improving  popular participation and inclusion
• Regular updates of Assembly’s activities and performance through community durbars, town hall meetings, and review meetings
• Presentation of Assembly’s annual performance at community durbars
• Publication of Assembly’s Annual performance through Assembly’s websites, notice boards and leaflets.

Engagement and Coordination in the Open Government Strategic Vision and OGP Action Plan

Please list the lead institutions responsible for the implementation of this OGP action plan.

• 1.Office of the Metropolitan Coordinating Director of the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly 2. Metropoli

What kind of institutional arrangements are in place to coordinate between government agencies and departments to implement the OGP action plan?

The OGP Tamale has established a technical  committee who are made up of personnel of varied developmental background and are ready and capable of carrying out effective planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation and reporting.

To ensure proper and diligent execution of  the project an Independent monitoring group is established to monitor the process of the governance practices right from the beginning to the end of the project.

Civil Society Organizations led by Northern Accelerated Intervention for Development who have operated in the communities and have good relationship with them would create good platform for smooth implementation of the Action Plan.

The selected institutions identified who have the mandate to execute the commitments will lead the implementation of those commitments in collaboration with other stakeholders such as the media, Traditional Authorities, Community leaders, women and youthRecognizing that investing in youth means investing in a better future, OGP participating governments are creating meaningful opportunities for youth to participate in government processes. Technical ... More groups.

The Assembly will establish a Multi Stakeholder Forum (MSF) committee to look into the various commitments to ensure that the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation are in line with the plan as well as assist in mobilizing other resources to support the process. The department and agencies shall forward the reports to the Metropolitan Development Planner. The OGP Point of Contacts will collate all the reports and submit to MSF.

What kind of spaces have you used or created to enable the collaboration between government and civil society in the co-creation and implementation of this action plan? Mention both offline and online spaces.

The spaces include; Community Meetings:

• The stakeholder committee identified communities and other organized groups and scheduled meetings with them for interaction. They include Gumbihini and Bilpela communities, all suburbs of  the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly. Others  groups engaged were  traders and dress makers association, department of agriculure, waste management department of the Tamale metropolitan Assembly, Ghana national association of teachers as well as Ghana Education service.
• The committee on leveraged on existing statutory meeting of the Assembly and other meetings such as Metropolitan Planning and Coordinating (MPCU) meetings, sub-committee meetings, climate change adaptation and mitigation workshops, during the co-creation process.

Issues discussed centred on the Assembly relationship with them. These among others were the fact that the communities do not have much participation in the development process of the area. There have not been adequate consultations in the infrastructural design and execution of development projects. The Assembly does not relate well with them on the needed support for Agricultural activities.

• Online meetings(webinar): For the difficulty and cost of bringing members together an online meeting was held  held to discuss the co-creation process
• Whatsapp conversation: this medium was also adopted as an accessible avenue for meeting members conveniently.

What measures did you take to ensure diversity of representation (including vulnerable or marginalized populations) in these spaces?

We adopted all inclusive participation approach, that is to say broader stakeholder engagements at various levels to ensure that no one was left out. The forums was a diversity of people who included women, men, the well to do and the vulnerable members and they expressed themselves in the co-creation process.

Who participated in these spaces?

• Tamale OGP consultative committee
• Market women
• Staff of Tamale Metropolitan Assembly
• Decentralized departments/units of the Assembly e.g department of forestry, game and wild life, Ghana health service, Ghana education service, waste management unit, etc
• Community organized groups members
• CSOs

How many groups participated in these spaces?

8

How many public-facing meetings were held in the co-creation process?

8

How will government and non-governmental stakeholders continue to collaborate through the implementation of the action plan?

The  Assembly will continue to collaborate with the CSOs  through effective community mobilization and other stakeholder engagements to participate in OGP process. The members of the technical committee which include government and non-governmental organizations will continue to collaborate with the Multi Stakeholder Forum(MSF) to access and track the implementation of the action plan.

There shall be regular meetings of the Consultative committee  to discuss the progress and issues arising out of the implementation and further develop innovative ideas to enhance the process.

The MPCU as part its quarterly meetings would include issues that will engender the implementation process of OGP.

Please describe the independent Monitoring Body you have identified for this plan.

The university for development studies, Tamale,  SEND GHANA,  and GDCA  constitute the independent monitoring body

The independent monitoring body is a group of personnel of high academic and professional background who have the capacity to access and guide the implementation process and to ensure that the process is in line with the plan.

Appropriate tools will be  used to conduct the monitoring reporting outcome of the monitoring.

Provide the contact details for the independent monitoring body.

• Professor Adams S. Acharso, Senior Lecturer Faculty of Sustainable Development University for Developmet Studies-UDS, [email protected]
• Mr Maruf Abdulai, Programmes Officer SEND GHANA, [email protected]
• Alhaji Osman Abdul-Rahman, Executive Director Ghana Danish Development Association (GDCA), [email protected]

What types of activities will you have in place to discuss progress on commitments with stakeholders?

• Focus group discussions:
  This is done by identifying small groups with good professional, academic and social backgrounds for the exercise. They will be selected based on their capacity in the various commitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action....

• Community durbars:
  This consist of the larger society which include traditional authorities, clergy, women and youth groups,natural leaders, PWDs who are affected by government policies.The community members would listen and respond to the issues of the commitments

• Town hall meetings:
  This is a selected groups people from the communities who represent their constituents. These groups have the capacity to listen, access and respond to the commitments positively.
• Webinars:
  Applying information communication technology to reach out to so many people in the Metropolis to listen, access and respond to the commitments executed.
• Radio discussion:
  Radio has a wider publicity and reaches larger audience and has the high tendencies to attract so many people in the metropolis to access and comment on the commitment executed.

How will you regularly check in on progress with implementing agencies?

• Monitoring visits:

The committee will structure monitoring itinerary visit for the various commitment areas with the monitoring team to critically access the progress and the challenges in the project life cycle.

• Review meetings:

The project implentation team periodically, shall meet at the project office to discuss progress report from the implemetation and look the necessity of reviewing the  activities of the commitments or otherwise

• Radio dialogue sessions:

The implementation of the commitments  will be put on air for the general public in the Metropolis to listen and comment on its progress.

• Surveys:

A random survey with the interaction of the people to discuss the progress of the commitments. A questionair can also be prepared and distribute among the people to express their opinion on the commitment.

How will you share the results of your monitoring efforts with the public?

• Stakeholder meetings:
• At the stakeholder meeting the results of the monitoring will be tailored through power point presentation
• Town hall meetings:
• The selected representatives from the communities will be organized and present the monitoring results to them for their concern
• Durbars:
• Organize community durbars on the monitoring results
• Radio and TV:
• The results of the commitment will be put radio and Television for the consuming public

Endorsement from Non-Governmental Stakeholders

• Wumbie Dokurugu, Programme coordinator, Oxfam Ghana
• Evita Emmanuel, Programme coordinator, GDCA
• Maruf Abdulai, Programme Officer, SEND Ghana
• Mohammed Saani Iddrisu, Executive Director, Northern Accelerated Intervention for Development(NAID).

Tamale Introductory Letter

Commitments:

• Involvement of stakeholders(Government, consumers, CSOs, utility service providers) in water and sanitation governance (GHTML0001)
• Involving stakeholders in agricultural planning and implementation processes (GHTML0004)
• Effective stakeholder engagement in educational policy planning and implementation Infrastructure development Improve access to education and Quality delivery of services through Monitoring and evaluation (GHTML0005)
• Improving access to quality health care services (GHTML0006)
• Stakeholder inclusion and participation in Revenue mobilization and utilization (GHTML0007)