Ensuring Community Development Progress: The Volta Region’s Rigorous Monitoring of Municipal and District Community Development Units
The Department of Community Development of the Volta Regional Co-ordinating Council conducted a region wide Performance Monitoring of the eighteen (18) Municipal and District Community Development Units from the First to Second Quarter of 2022. The Department constituted a Monitoring Team and tasked it with assessing the Units based on a set of indicators covering Community Development (CD) Unit 2022 activities, Community Development Activities featured in District Annual Action Plan (AAP), Second Quarter Field Activities by the Unit, WASH activities carried out by the Unit, Child Protection (Child Care) Activities, Funds released to the Unit (GoG) and any other support to the Unit.
The Monitoring Team’s findings revealed a worrying trend in the representation of community development programmes in the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development’s AAP in most districts. It appeared that District Heads of the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development had prioritized welfare activities over community development activities. This was evident in the fact that in almost all the districts monitored, social welfare activities constituted about 80% and in some cases more than 80% of the programmes captured in the Department’s Annual Action Plan.
The Team also found that the district offices of Department of Social Welfare and Community Development were not working with the Operational Manual for the Department that stipulates that the Department must have two active units, namely Social Welfare Unit and Community Development Unit. Some districts could not provide Community Development plans and activities implemented as a Unit. The lack of representation and prioritization of Community Development programmes was a cause for concern and the various Departments of Social Welfare and Community Development pledged to take steps to rectify the anomaly.
Notwithstanding the challenges and lack of representation of community development programmes in the region, the Monitoring Team recognized the hard work and dedication of the officers working in the Community Development Units.
The Regional Office of Department of Community Development is committed to providing the necessary support to ensure that the officers can continue to play their roles across the districts.