By: Josephine Kekeli Amuzu
Kantamanso Mantse, Tatse Nii Laryea Akuetteh X has emphasized the critical role of local leadership and coordinated planning in delivering meaningful development across communities.
Speaking on the Public Concern show on April, 15 2025, Tatse Nii Laryea Akuetteh X reflected on the systems previously in place to ensure that infrastructure and social services reached every corner of the country.
According to the former Greater Accra Regional Minister, every community regardless of size has a traditional leader and an elected assembly member, a member of parliament, forming the first point of contact for identifying the pressing needs of the people.
He explained that a structured process used to exist where local leaders, assembly members, and MPs would gather information on the challenges within their communities and amplify these issues through the appropriate channels for redress.
“When the Regional Minister moves around to identify the needs and wants of the people, they put together reports, and then the system begins to act,” he explained. “The settlement is carried to the appropriate quarters, discussed, and funding is sourced whether for education, health, or infrastructure.”
He outlined a systematic approach where district assemblies determined the kind of facilities needed based on the size and status of a community, whether it required a CHPS compound, a clinic, or a hospital. These recommendations would then be followed by inspections, project launches, and eventually, commissioning.
He expressed concern over a shift in this process under a previous administration. According to him, regional ministers were excluded from the contract awarding process. “There was a problem when the previous regime came. The regional ministers weren’t awarding contracts anymore,” he said, adding that it disrupted the system of identifying and prioritizing development needs through direct community engagement.
“In my time, I moved into districts and villages. I cut sod for projects and commissioned them. But later, my colleagues weren’t doing that. They weren’t visiting the villages,” he stated. “The collaboration between local leaders and government was key to the development we saw.”
He stressed the importance of engaging chiefs in every developmental conversation, noting that they are custodians of their communities and best positioned to identify their most urgent needs. “No minister can enter a community without first engaging the chief. That’s where it starts.”
He concluded with a call for a return to grassroots-focused governance and a more collaborative approach that prioritizes the needs of the people through structured planning and constant community engagement.
“This is the system that ensures everyone is moving together,” he said. “That’s how we relieve our people. That’s how development works.”
