Members of the Multi-Disciplinary Facilitation Team (MDFT) of Western Region were recently trained on the Local Government Act during a two-day training workshop at the Kabifita Nursery School grounds in Brikama.

The training was funded by the Community Driven Development Project (CDDP) and facilitated through the Department of Community Development, Brikama branch. Among the core value objectives of the training included the enhancement of the capacity of the MDFT members on the relevant knowledge and skills on the Local Government Act with regard to decentralisation. The training also served as a preparatory mechanism for the step down field exercise training for the Village Development Committees (VDCs).

Allasana Minteh, assistant community development officer for Western Region called on the MDFT members to be more committed for the successful implementation of the plans of the CDDP. He informed the gathering that there are more activities in the pipeline that needs to be implemented in 2009 in forty-six communities of the CDDP intervention. Minteh further informed members that the task ahead of them after the training is in three phases, mainly to assess all the forty-six villages Development Committees (VDCs) within the region on whether they are formed in conformity with the LGA as well as their strengths and weaknesses. He also told the gathering that they will also trained the VDCs on the LGA as well as their roles and responsibilities in the implementation of the CDDP activities.

The community development facilitator, Tombong Keita, said the concept of the Village Development Committees is not something new in Western Region. He made reference to the Education Development Fund (EDF) and the Social Development Fund (SDF) during which most of the communities formed their VDCs.

He observed that in those days, there was little support, which subsequently led to the dormancy of most of the VDCs. He urged participants to take the training seriously and also to adequately disseminate the information gained to their various communities. Nkey Kanyi, CDDP financial controller dwelled on the financial procedures and the importance of submitting reports at time.