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Stakeholders have advised the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to increase the responsibility and build the capacity of District Coordinating Planning Units to coordinate Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) programmes at the local government level.

According to a report developed by the Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR), and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, it has found an alarming disconnect between the implementation of social protection programmes at the district level and coordination at the national level.

The study which was conducted in 2019, found out that the distance between the Ministry and agencies that implement GESI programmes could significantly affect the impact of the programmes as a response to difficulties faced by Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) on the ground might be delayed.

Also quality of GESI actions might suffer if MMDAs did not have the appropriate capacity.

The Ministry of Gender was set up to ensure effective coordination and implementation of GESI programmes, however, the study noted that it now has very little control over MMDAs that are largely responsible for implementing well-known GESI programmes in the country.

The report urged the Ministries of Gender as well as Local Government and Rural Development to develop guidelines for the DCPUs at the MMDAs for Social Protection and GESI coordination.

Such guidelines, it explained, would support the capacity of the MMDAs to handle the coordination of GESI programmes and activities at the local level.

It also called on the Gender Ministry of Gender to work with the National Development Planning Commission to require coordinated Social Protection and GESI plans in the medium-term development plans of the MMDAs, adding that, it could be facilitated with a uniformed template to be used by the MMDAs.

Through its relevant agencies, the Ministry was also called to provide technical assistance and lend training support to MMDAs in the implementation of Social Protection and GESI plans.

The technical experts at the Ministry through well-structured training programmes, the report says, could develop expertise at the MMDAs.

According to the report, stakeholders recommended that an Inter-Ministerial Technical Group be created and chaired by the Office of the President to allow for improved coordination between the Ministry of Gender and Local Government in performing their oversight role over GESI activities of the MMDAs.

Though a laudable proposal, the ARHR believed it was insufficient to adequately deal with the current problem of not having direct access to the MMDAs by the Gender Ministry, explaining that, the solution will only last as long as the interest and energy of the Office of the President to chair and direct the issue remain.

“A lesson about turf battles is that the party with the advantage of control only sees reason through either persuasion or termination. The in-between action of demands and threats only increase their passiveness or non-commitment,” it added.

Stakeholders also proposed that the Purview of the District Coordinating Planning Units (DCPUs) be expanded to include Social Protection Policies.

“We should be able to envision a Ghana where the DCPU of MMDAs effectively plans for infrastructural, economic and social development including the sub-themes involved in these such as Social Protection.

“This will require a review of the current mandate and scope of work of DCPUs, capacity development through training, and addition of staff for the added mandate. This is not an easy path, but a sustainable approach,” it said.

The report noted that what needed a change in the work of DCPU was the scope of issues it considered in its planning coordination, adding that, the DCPU had to realize that the pro-poor GESI issues were not only important to citizens but also to the performance assessment of Government.

“An expanded purview and increased capacity for the DCPUs will not displace the Ministry of Gender of its role but will rather give it an entirely new role and relationship with the MMDAs, where the Ministry through the Department of Social Development will set standards and guidelines for the implementation of GESI programmes by MMDAs and also provide ongoing support for capacity building to MMDAs to effectively implement GESI programmes.”