Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Dr. Nii Moi Thompson, has tasked Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to be more accountable and transparent in their operations, and serve the purpose for which they exist.
According to him, some of these organisations fail to portray the values of a civic society or act in the interest of the people they represent.
He made this call during the Ghana Civic Society Forum, which brought together Non-Governmental organisations (NGOs) and CSOs.
“While some CSOs preach accountability and transparency, and possibly even probity, many do not live up to these ideals. They are anything but transparent and accountable in a way that can be verified by the public.
“Indeed, some may be described as charitably opaque, even wasteful in the deployment of scarce resources. Sometimes, this has taken the form of a lavish lifestyle of your leaders or management, even as they proclaim to the world that they work for the poor,” he disclosed.
Meanwhile, a UNESCO representative to Ghana, Edmond Mukala, reiterated the calls for localized development financing and a decrease in the high level dependency on foreign aid.
“Ghana Civil Society can lead this shift by embracing social enterprise models, domestic resource mobilisation, and diaspora engagement to build financial resilience. Redefining partnership is key.
“Development is no longer the sole responsibility of the Government. We must build agile, accountable and cross-sector collaborations grounded in trust, shared values and evidence”, he stated
