Latifa is a Sixteen (16) year old Junior High School three pupil who hails from Yaru-Naah a farming community in the WA East District of the Upper West Region. Her dream of becoming a nurse was nearly cut short due to child marriage if not for the timely intervention of CDA-Ghana, a Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) grant partner of the STAR Ghana Programme. Latifa’s Bride price had allegedly been paid, and 23rd February 2019 was fixed as her Islamic marriage ceremony.
A brief interview session with Latifa
Upon receipt of the information, the STAR Ghana supported `Let Girls Learn, End Child Marriage` Project team of CDA meet with Latifa’s parents and to ascertain the alleged marriage plans. In the opinion of Latifa’s father, that was practically impossible:
“once the bride price had been accepted, there is nothing we can do to stop the marriage”. The CDA team sensitised the family on the consequences – legal and otherwise, of marrying Latifa off at such an early age and encouraged the family to reflect on their decision."
On the 5th of February 2019, the family of Latifa called to invite CDA back to YARA – NAAH community for their feedback on Latfifa’s marriage proposal. Latifa’s father and elders of the YARU-NAAH community after a period of reflection indicated their intention to rescind the decision to give up Latifa for marriage.
Meetings were subsequently held with the prospective groom and his family to rescind their marriage proposal and accept to take back their bride price. CDA met both families together and offered further sensitization on the effects and legal ramifications of practicing child marriages. The families and members of the two communities made commitments to stop child marriage and promote girl child education.
Latifa, second from left (in uniform) with the `Let girls learn and child marriage project team`
Latifa Antiku is now back to school in YARU-NAAH Community Junior High School where she is currently pursuing her educational aspirations. She had promised the project team that she will work hard to pass her basic school education exams.
“Despite the stigma of aborted marriage plans, I am determined to advance to senior high school”.
Latifa is currently being monitored and supported by the `Let Girls Learn; End Child Marriage` project, supported by STAR Ghana with funding from UKAid, DANIDA and the European Union.
Using mobile technology to enhance participation in internal revenue mobilization and utilization in East Gonja Municipal Assembly
Community journalists and representatives of the GPRTU of TUC, Cattle Owners Association, Women groups and representatives of Zonal Councils within the East Gonja Municipal Assembly (EGMA) have been trained to use mobile technology to enhance revenue collection and monitor the utilization of same in the District.
A section of participants in a group work at the training
The training forms part of activities of the “Enhancing Participation in Internal Revenue Mobilization and Utilization (EPRM) in East Gonja Municipal Assembly Project” implemented by the Ghana Developing Communities Association (GDCA) in partnership with the Partnership for Participatory Local Governance (PPLG). The one-year project is supported by STAR-Ghana under the STAR-Ghana Local Governance Grant Call with funding from the UKAid, DANIDA and the European Union.
The East Gonja Municipal Assembly has not been meeting its annual targets for internally generated fund (IGF) due to the low amount of revenues generated. Trend analysis of the percentage contribution of the IGF as against the total revenue of the Assembly has been very low. For instance, the MCD observed that the contribution of IGF to the total revenue of the Assembly was only 2.62% in 2014, 3.10% in 2015, 3.20% in 2016 and 3.65% in 2017. This is against a percentage contribution of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) to the total revenue of the Assembly of 12.40% in 2014, 50.57% in 2015, 47.38% in 2016 and 53.73 in 2017. The rest of the total revenue for the Municipal Assembly during the same period came from donor sources.
The goal of the project is to strengthen citizen participation in MMDAs internal revenue generation and utilization for improved local government accountability and performance. It is intended to enhance citizens' participation in district assembly revenue generation and utilization processes. This will ultimately improve accountability for financial resources in the Municipal Assembly with focus on internally generated funds (IGF).
A typical message from a citizen representative to an officer at the Assembly seeking benefits for the payment of Tax
Participants at the training were sensitized on the key indicators of the community score card for internal revenue generation and monitoring. Based on these learning, participants were taken through the relevance of information sharing, core principles and ethics of reporting, as well as some tit bits of mobile phone security to facilitate an effective process of using their mobile phones to report cases.
Participants now have opportunity to anonymously raise issues on revenue mobilization and receive feedback on the utilization of same from specific officers in charge of revenue mobilization and utilization at the Assembly, using their mobile phones in their respective communities.
Participants at the event
In attendence were Staff of GDCA, STAR-Ghana and officers of the East Gonja Municipal Assembly.
About the STAR-Ghana SMS Platform
The platform connects remote citizens to their local state actors using SMS. Each reporter is trained to use text messaging to highlight issues of local concern to their state actors, by sending them anonymous micro-reports via SMS. The state actors upon receipt of the reports on their personal phones, reply via SMS and explain to reporters their planned response to the issues raised.
Commemorating International Day of Democracy through friendly accountability platforms
Today, Saturday, 15th September marks the United Nations' International Day of Democracy. Our partners through their work are working actively to strengthen democracy in Ghana. We bring you excerpts of our work with our partner Youth Empowerment for Life (YEfL) in strengthening democratic structures at the local level..
Through their work in the northern region of Ghana in 2017, Youth Empowerment for Life (YEfL), found that young people, including girls and people with disabilities (PWDs), lacked a voice, resources and a platform to act in a male-dominated society.
These groups had limited opportunities to influence decision-making processes, and hardly had any access to information and basic services. The communities, where the YEfL project worked, were in urgent need of information and a platform for meaningful youth engagement. More seriously, young people in the community did not show much interest in political discourse and felt disengaged from the process. They remained passive and indifferent as they lacked the self-confidence and courage to engage.
Youth Parliament project
To address these issues, YEfL, through the STAR-Ghanaprogramme, implemented the Youth Parliament project in five districts and in 25 different communities in the northern region of Ghana. The project put in place two approaches:
Youth Parliament
Drawing inspiration from Ghana’s parliamentary system, this approach aimed to increase youth participation in governance and decision-making processes at the local levels. This approach was used to change the behaviour and attitudes of young people, build their confidence and skills to engage effectively. The project aimed to create a friendly and sustainable accountability platform to stimulate both dialogue for change and youth involvement in governance processes at community and district levels. The project had a clear selection criteria and training guide, which set out rules and responsibilities. Young people were able to discuss and debate issues concerning them with adults and duty bearers.
Unlike the usual civic engagement forums, the youth parliament presents an opportunity to nurture the youth for leadership positions and for young people to build their confidence to take up these positions. The Youth Parliament was first piloted with the Saboba Youth Centre, was later implemented in four new districts, Yendi, Sagnarigu, Nanumba North and Nanumba South.
All five Youth Parliaments are being supported to hold parliamentary sittings, hold radio discussions, and facilitate community journalists to gather community stories and evidence.
Leadership of the Saboba Youth Parliament, YEfL and STAR-Ghana pay a courtesy call to the District Chief Executive of Saboba in the Northern Region of Ghana
"Youth Parliament has given me voice to participate and engage stakeholders in developmental issues, such as education, sanitation and health" Mary Issah Nnyeyam, PWD parliamentarian, Sagnarigu Youth Parliament
Community journalism
Community journalism was the second approach that was used to bridge the information gap between young people and duty bearers and also the community. In this approach, YEfL trained 25 young people, five from each district. The approach focused on using youth reporters, or community journalists', who were trained in gathering community evidence on issues. The journalists used this information to aid the youth parliamentarians further their arguments during parliamentary proceedings. The community journalists were also able to discuss the happenings/proceedings of each sitting on partner community radio stations (Radio Savannah, Radio Gaakii and Gmantambu Radio) and opened the issues up to members of the public through phone-in segments. This ensured that all youth were able to participate in discussions and enabled them to engage with political activities.
The community journalists use social media, particularly Facebook, to broadcast the issues beyond the borders of the beneficiary districts to attract the attention of other development partners and governments. "I didn’t even know how parliamentary proceedings were done but with the help of Youth Parliament, "I am very sure that any member, if given the opportunity, could even participate in Ghana’s parliament" Musah Asumanah, Deputy Majority Leader, Nanumba North Youth Parliament
Results
Through the Youth Parliaments, youth and PWDs have discovered and developed their political voice to express their views in an assertive manner. Consequently, the number of youth representation in the project has increased by around 50% from 67 to 126 participants. Young people are now willing to discover their voices. One PWD participant in Yendi said: “My involvement in the Youth Parliament alone makes me feel like I belong and valued since my views are now considered to be relevant in the development of our community.”
Duty bearers have also increased their response to issues raised by the participants. For example, the Member of parliament for Sagnarigu constituency responded to the Youth Parliament's call to construct a pavilion for the local Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS). Work has since started at the project site. Significantly, community journalists have documented and reported on a number of issues ranging from sanitation to security.
Using Mobile Technology to Monitor Implementation of the Ghana School Feeding Programme
Community Volunteers and Officers in charge of the implementation of the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) at the Bole and Sawla Districts of the Northern Region of Ghana have been trained to use short messaging services (SMS) on their mobile phones to report and respond to issues affecting beneficiaries and service providers of the GSFP.
The training was organized by Partners in Participatory Development (PAPADEV) as part of activities of the “Strengthening Anti-Corruption Drive in Basic Schools in Bole and Sawla-Tuna-Kalba Districts of the Northern Region” Project.
The one-year project is supported by STAR-Ghana under its Anti-Corruption Call with funding from the UKAid, DANIDA and the European Union (EU). The overall objective of the project is to contribute to a reduction in corrupt practices associated with the implementation of the GSFP, the capitation grant and teacher absenteeism within the Bole and Sawla-Tuana-kalba Districts of the Northern region.
Children within the project Districts walk an average of 3 kilometres to school. The afternoon meal provided by the School Feeding Programme serves as a relief or motivation for the children to go to school daily. PAPADEV’s monitoring of 2,700 graduates who transitioned from the Complementary Basic Education (CBE) Programme to the regular schools indicated that: where there was little or no feeding from the School Feeding Programme: a significant number of the school children, particularly girls, did not attend school regularly. A situation which affects their academic performance and, in some instances, leads to school dropout.
Participants at the training were sensitized on corruption, particularly around the School Feeding Programme and its effect on education and the nation at large. Based on these learning, participants were taken through the relevance of information sharing, core principles and ethics of reporting, as well as some tit bits of mobile phone security to facilitate an effective process of using their mobile phones to provide feedback on the implementation of the GSFP within the selected Districts.
Participants can now anonymously report issues of poor quality and quantity of food served, frequency of meals served on weekly basis among others, though text messaging – sent directly to the mobile phones of Officers of the GSFP within the two Districts for their attention. The SMS Platform allows both parties – the reporter and the duty bearer to rate the level of satisfaction of responses received and the relevance of the reports received respectively.
Trainee reporter responding to feedback question on his phone
Desk Officers in charge of the GSFP at the two Districts embraced the platform as a useful tool to support their work: “It is a wonderful platform, I wish it could give access to everybody in the community includingthe caterers. This will reduce the frequent visits we receive in our offices” Jacob Bakari, Bole District GSFP Desk Officer.
In attendance were representatives of PAPDEV, the Bole and Sawla-Tuana-kalba District Assemblies and STAR-Ghana.
