The Social Development and Improvement Agency (SODIA) and Access to Life Foundation ( ALF) have organised training workshops for Community Development Monitors (CDMs) in the Ahafo Ano North and Sekyere Central districts of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. SODIA and ALF are two of the civil society organisations that are implementing the GSAM project.
The training of CDMs is currently taking place across 50 districts of Ghana by the GSAM Consortium (CARE International in Ghana, Oxfam in Ghana and ISODEC) in collaboration with 25 other civil society organisations and with funding from the USAID.
A total of 3,750 citizens selected from 750 communities are being trained to serve as CDMs in their communities.
CDMs are community members who are trained to lead other members to monitor and assess projects (i.e. classroom blocks, clinics, toilets, boreholes, market stalls, etc.) that are being constructed or have been earmarked for construction in their communities by their respective District Assemblies. This is to ensure quality projects, get citizens’ needs addressed and reduce the possibility of corruption.
The training will, among other things, enhance their knowledge in the Assemblies planning processes, the legal framework for citizen participation in local governance and the processes for monitoring projects and engaging with their assemblies to get their concerns addressed.
