Perry Okudzeto Charged Information Officers to Live up to Expectation

By Emmanuel Yaw Acheampong

A Deputy Minister for Information in charge of operations, Mr Perry Curtis Kwabla Okudzeto, has urged Regional and District Information Officers to double their efforts of disseminating information on government development initiatives to the people at the grassroots and taking feedback to government.

This, he said, would help deepen the country's democracy and also ensure accountability.

He said government was committed to fulfilling promises it made during the 2016 elections, adding that the government had already started rolling out programmes such the Free Senior High School policy, planting for food and jobs creations and the digitization of the economy to reduce the difficulties Ghanaians were going through.

Mr Okudzeto made the point in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region when addressing Officers of the Information Services Department (ISD) from the Brong Ahafo, Northern, Ashanti, Upper East and Upper West regions during this year's Training of Trainers workshop, as part of preparation towards the 2018 Town Hall Meetings.

The Town Hall Meeting, among other things, is designed to provide a platform for duty bearers to meet their constituents and explain major government policies and programme to them.

"The prerogative of these meetings is to provide equal opportunity for office holders to meet the Ghanaian citizenry and discuss issue of national interest that affect the social wellbeing of the people", he stressed, urging Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives to take advantage of the initiative to showcase the developments in their areas.

The Town Hall Meetings have been officially launched on 7th May, 2018 at Dzodze in the Ketu North District of the Volta region by the Minister for Information, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid.

The Technical Economic Advisor to the Vice President, Dr Gideon Boako, revealed that about 30% of students from public Junior High Schools were mandatory offered placement annually to elites Senior High Schools in the country.

He announced that enrolment figures from the 2015/2016 academic year and that of the 2017/2018 increased by 69,000 with the roll-out of the Free Senior High School educational policy.

In an address, the Senior Technical Advisor on Development Planning at the Ministry of Planning, Dr Kojo Essiam Mensah-Abrampah, disclosed that the Coordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development Policies tabled by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to parliament offers a radical approach to resolving challenges on a more permanent basis, restore hope in economy and produce a meaningful life for all Ghanaians.

For her part, the Acting Director of ISD, Ms. Elizabeth Efua Essel, called on the staff of the Department to step up their efforts to remain relevant to the needs and aspirations of the government. This, she said, would make ISD regain its past glory as the main publicity arm of government.

She stressed the need for high quality work, innovative and creative thinking, value based education and responsible work ethics as goals to support the development and restructuring agenda of ISD.

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