Ghana

Government Accountability Improves Trust II (GAIT II) Project

Project Spotlight Co-op Principles Enhancing Democracy in Ghana District Assembly (DA) of Amansie East explains to citizens in pictoral form the sources of DA internally generated revenue.

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A western African nation located a few degrees north of the equator, Ghana is home to around 22 million people. The annual population growth rate is 2.1%. An estimated 74.8% of the population is literate. Well endowed with natural resources and with GDP per capita of $2,600, Ghana has roughly twice the per capita output of the poorest countries in West Africa. However, subsistence agriculture continues to dominate the domestic economy, employing 60% of the workforce who are mainly small landholders and accounting for 37% of GDP. Ghana's GDP is approximately $10 billion annually and is growing at a rate of 5.7%. The country's major agricultural export products are cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava, peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas, other food crops, and timber ('06).

History
Program activities since 2001

Current Project
Government Accountability Improves Trust - GAIT II (August 2004-July 2009). GAIT II operates out of Accra, with sub offices in Kumasi, Wa, and Koforidua.

Funding
United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Partners
The program is jointly implemented by CLUSA as the prime contractor in cooperation with the Education Development Center (EDC) and the Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS).

Goal
Ensure the long-term engagement of citizens and local government leading to the effective delivery of needed and valued services.

Objectives

(1) Strengthen local government capacity to seek and respond to citizen input;
(2) Increase the capacity of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to engage local government effectively and/or to take action on behalf of their constituents to improve civic welfare;
(3) Build district and national capacities to engage communities in education.
(4) Build community capacity to assume responsibility for school improvement and to advocate for education at the district and national levels;
(5) Assist local government and civil society organizations to create and maintain a more business-friendly environment that is responsive to private sector concerns.

Strategies
CLUSA's strategy to promote good governance and education in Ghana is threefold:

• Strengthen stakeholders' voices at all levels;
• Support the development of effective, sustainable community participation;
• Enable policy-makers to be more responsive to advocacy.

• GAIT II supported the formation of Civic Unions in all 16 target districts. More than 800 Civil Society Organizations are represented by these Civic Unions.
• The Mandari community's Civic Union advocated to the District Assembly and District Health Management Team to build a clinic in the community. Previously community members were forced to travel long distances to the Bole district hospital for health services.
• The South Tongu Civic Union advocated for the institutionalization of a vegetable festival that would unite the people and also draw attention to the district's potential for vegetable production. Festival activities included clean up exercises, football tournaments, a pepper picking contest, a health outreach program and education on the use of Agro-chemicals.
• In August/September 2006, GAIT II micro grants were disbursed to 447 school communities. To further support activities funded by the micro grants, communities raised $30,000 in cash and in-kind contributions.
• Women's wings of Civic Unions have seen an increase in activity. Programs have attracted nearly 200 women at one sitting. Women's wings advocate on women's health, domestic violence, women's participation in governance, and resource mobilization.