Civil Society Platform On Sada Seeks Amendment To Sada Act

Abdallah Kassim

The Civil Society Platform on the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) is advocating for the amendment of section 12.6 of the law that created SADA, Act 805.

In a petition to the Minister of State in-charge of Development Authorities, the Platform stated it has noticed that: “Section 12 (6) of the SADA Act, Act 805 is a disincentive to the participation of Civil Society representatives on the Stakeholder Coordinating Committee (SCC) of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority.”

Section 12 (6) of the Act states that: “The cost associated with the annual sessions of the Stakeholder Coordinating Committee shall be borne by the stakeholder groups that nominate representatives onto the committee.” 

The SCC comprises both State and non-State representatives; whereas the cost associated with attending the meetings of the SCC by State representatives is borne by the State that of non-state representatives-by the law- must be borne by civil society. 

According to the Platform: “Presently, it is difficult for Civil Society Organizations to bear the cost of attending these meetings because our donors disallow such cost items.”

They argue that Civil Society Organizations should not bear the cost of meetings organized by the state, especially when the State stands to benefit from the participation and contribution of Civil Society Stakeholder groups.

The Platform wants Section 12 (6) of SADA Act 2010, Act 805 to be amended to enable SADA bear the cost associated with the participation of Civil Society representatives in meetings of the Stakeholder Coordinating Committee.

This, they believe, would remove any bottlenecks that hinder the participation of Civil Society representatives on the SCC as evidenced by the low attendance recorded during its last meeting in December 2013. 

The Minister of State in-charge of Development Authorities, Dr. Mustapha Ahmed received a two-man delegation from the Platform, comprising Mr. Abdallah Kassim, out-going Chairman of the Northern Ghana Network for Development (NGND) and Mr. Theophilus Ibrahim Dokurugu, Executive Secretary, NGND and Convener of the Platform to present the petition.  

Dr. Mustapha Ahmed acknowledged the observation made by the Platform and said he would confer with the appropriate stakeholders to look into the issue. He said the process may take time and asked the Platform to exercise restraint.

The Platform, among others, seeks to articulate the views and inputs of civil society in the programmes and activities of SADA. The Platform membership comprises of non-governmental organisations, community based organisations, farmer based organisations and individuals especially those in the Northern Savannah Ecological Zone where SADA operates.