Ghana's development partners, organisations and institutions in the private and public sectors have lauded the STAR - Ghana Foundation (SGF) for its monumental impact on national development five years after its inception.
The Foundation, which builds on the success of the STAR-Ghana programme, a multi-donor civil society initiative was established in 2018 and had since supported locally grown solutions to advance Ghana’s development and contribute to sustainable and inclusive change.
Speaking at the launch of the 5th anniversary of SGF in Accra on Tuesday, Madam Beth Cadman OBE, the Development Director of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), said the Foundation had contributed to the development course of the country despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
She explained that the SGF had proved its ability to survive difficult times and had since operated independently and with broader footprints in its development support intervention.
She expressed happiness that the Foundation is venturing into new sectors beyond its boundaries by supporting Ghana's civil society and being “proactive in feeding into government's thinking and planning. That is an incredible success to be proud of.”
Professor George Akilagpa Sawyerr, while commending the Foundation for the successes chalked over the years, encouraged the current leadership of SGF to constantly revise the interventions of the Foundation to fit into the country’s development needs at any given time.
“Think through ways of bringing onboard more ignored sectors of society, give voice, don’t stop exploring opportunities and moving forward”, he urged.
Other institutions and organisations that eulogized the successes of the SGF were the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), and the International Federation of Women Lawyers among others.
Dr. Esther Oduraa Ofei-Aboagye, Chairperson of the STAR-Ghana Foundation Governing Council, indicated that the role of the Foundation was more important now than before following the deepening development emergencies in the country such as natural resource-related conflicts, terrorist groups, and eroding rights of groups of people among others in recent times.
“A role for an entity such as the STAR Ghana Foundation in Ghana as well as in the sub-region is required perhaps even more urgently now than before.
Our pulse on the political, economic and social developments in the country and West Africa suggests that alienation of the citizenry from the processes that have been pursued as “democracy” is a real possibility”, she explained.
Dr. Ofei-Aboagye acknowledged the support and cooperation of some state institutions in the pursuit of the SGF’s agenda which had led to tremendous impact in the lives of many people in the country.
Mr Ibrahim-Tanko Amidu, the Executive Director of SGF, indicated that the anniversary event would also be a time of reflection for the organisation on the lesions learnt on the journey so far in charting a development path over the years.
He said the five years of the Foundation’s life was a milestone towards mobilizing for inclusive and sustainable development as a convener and a coordinator of Civil Society Organisation (CSOs) on development action in Ghana.
“The rationale, the reasons that led to the push to set up the foundation are as true today as they were at the time that we started the discussions.
“Poverty, deepening exclusion, threat to the civic space, growing citizens apathy and disengagement from governance and development processes, the climate emergency and the security threat coming in from the Sahel and how that impact the lives of the citizens of this country were some of the reasons for setting up the foundation”, he explained.
Mr Amidu, therefore, advanced the need for collective efforts towards making Ghana a better place for all Ghanaian citizens.
The anniversary on the theme, “5 years of Promoting Active Citizenship and Local Philanthropy for Inclusive Development”, was to among other things, celebrate the successes chalked within the five years of development trajectory.
Representatives of government agencies and institutions, private sector organisations, CSOs and subscribers of SGF among others attended the event.
