UE/R: SOCO PROJECT FACILITATORS URGED TO WORK HARD FOR THE SUCCESS OF THE PROJECT – DCE NABDAM
By – Sadat Dabo
A damning evaluation by RISE-Ghana has exposed a shocking state of emergency transport and local governance failure in the Bolgatanga East District, revealing that out of 16 required Community Emergency Transport System (CETS) Motor king Ambulance only four exist and only ONE is functioning to serve the entire district
The findings were made public at a day’s media briefing organized by RISE-Ghana for 15 selected media actors across the Upper East Region to promote evidence-informed policy making and accountable service delivery in health and governance
The briefing was to disseminate findings of the Evidence for Development (E4D) Evaluation in Bolga East District under the Evidence for Development Project led by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) with funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Speaking at the briefing, the Executive Director of RISE-Ghana, Alhaji Awal Ahmed Kariama, said the project sought to go beyond the usual government monitoring of projects to actually evaluate the impact and functionality of existing structures
“Traditionally government institutions execute projects and they monitor those projects, but beyond monitoring, they don’t really evaluate the impact of those projects or the structures that exist within their local governance system. So with the support of CDD-Ghana and the Hewlett Foundation, through a project that we call the E4D project, community of practice were formed in the Bolga East,” he explained
The evaluation focused on two critical areas ; the health service delivery system, particularly referral pathways, and the local governance structure, focusing on unit committees and the area council
Only One Motor King Ambulance Working
Alhaji Awal revealed that the district is supposed to have at least 16 emergency transport systems for the Sixteen Community-based Health Planning and Services compound CHPS compound, but currently has only four Motor King ambulances. Tragically, out of the four, only one is functioning
“As we speak, we have only four of the emergency transport systems that are on the road in the district. They are supposed to have at least 16, but they have only four motor king ambulances in the district. And out of that, sadly, only one is functioning,” he lamented
He disclosed that last year alone, 395 referrals were made from facilities like the Zuarungu Health Centre to the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital, with patients left to find their own means of transport, exposing them to life-threatening delays
According to him, the Ghana Health Service Directorate has responded by pledging to set up a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for referrals to ensure timely feedback, and to immediately convene stakeholders to activate community support for emergency transport as a stop-gap measure while working to increase resources
Governance at its Weakest – One Area Council for 16 Electoral Areas
Alhaji Awal noted that Bolga East, with 16 electoral areas, is supposed to have at least two area councils but operates with only one.
Worse, many unit committees do not meet the minimum required membership of five people per electoral area.
“Some of the unit committees are not up to the minimum expected number of five people per electoral area. So that is a gap. Fewer people are serving or being elected into the unit committee, which affects local governance,” he said.
He added that even the few serving members have not received proper orientation or training from the District Assembly, weakening citizen participation, citizen oversight, and monitoring of development projects
The report also exposed a severe revenue crisis. The District Assembly’s 2024 Internally Generated Fund (IGF) performance was 64% less than its projected budget of about GH¢164,000.
“The district cannot function that way. The role of unit committees is really very critical in mobilizing local resources,” Alhaji Awal stressed
Media as Catalyst for Change
Alhaji Awal said the media engagement is strategic, as the policy briefs will be shared with key policy actors including Members of Parliament who sit on the Parliamentary Health Committee
“This is not just about Bolga East, but it can trickle down to other districts so that we can improve service delivery. We are expecting that the media will learn from it, use it for their programming, and use it to influence policy so that the quality of life and services in our districts will improve,” he stated
He noted that RISE-Ghana has already organized a Regional Learning Forum bringing together Nabdam, Talensi, and Bongo districts to share best practices from Bolga East, where it was revealed that unit committees in the Nabdam area are working effectively
Describing the E4D project as a pilot
Alhaji Awal said RISE-Ghana and CDD-Ghana are willing to seek more resources to scale up the intervention to other districts in the region based on the lessons and impact
The evaluation serves as a wake-up call for the District Assembly, the Regional Coordinating Council, and central government to urgently fix the broken emergency referral system and revive grassroots governance structures before more lives and development are lost
Source – gbcuraonline.com
