Ghana participates in 2025 OGP Africa and Middle East Regional Conference
The 2025 Open Government Partnership (OGP) Africa and Middle East Regional Meeting hosted by the Government of Kenya took place in Nairobi, Kenya, from 25th to 27th March 2025. This significant gathering brought together over 500 participants, including government officials, civil society leaders, policymakers, and international partners from across Africa and the Middle East. Held at the Radisson Blu in Upper Hill, Nairobi, the event operated under the theme “Rebuilding Trust through Open Government,” focusing on leveraging transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement to strengthen governance and restore public confidence in institutions.
The objective of the meeting was to exchange insights and discuss progress on open government initiatives through keynote speeches, panel discussions and interactive workshops. The conference also offered a unique opportunity to connect with leading experts and peers dedicated to advancing open government reforms.
Ghana’s participants at the Regional Meeting were Government Officials, Members of Parliament (MP), Heads of Public Sector Agencies and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). The members of the Government delegation that attended were Hon. Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, Deputy Chief of Staff; Hon. Lydia Lamisi Akanvariba (MP), Minister of State in charge of Public Sector Reforms and Chairman of the OGP Steering Committee; Dr. Eric Oduro Osae, Director-General, Internal Audit Agency; Mrs. Thelma Ohene-Asiamah, Director in charge of General Administration at the Public Sector Reform Secretariat and OGP Point of Contact; and Dr. Winifred Nafisa Mahama, Acting Director, Information Services Department.
Also from Parliament were Hon. Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, MP for South Dayi Constituency and Majority Chief Whip; Hon. Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, MP for Ho Constituency and Chairman of the OGP Caucus in Ghana’s Parliament; Hon. Alexander Akwasi Acquah, MP for Akim Oda Constituency; Hon. Prof. Grace Ayensu-Danquah, MP for Essikadu-Ketan Constituency and Mr. Frank Tse Diaba, Senior Assistant Clerk, Parliament.
From the sub-national level, Mr. Baffour Ampofo Haruna, Regional Coordinating Director, Tarkwa Nsuem Municipal Assembly; and Mr. Isaac Aidoo, OGP Local Point of Contact, Sekondi-Takoradi Municipal Assembly.
Representatives from CSOs that attended the conference were Ms. Mary Awelana Addah, Executive Director, Ghana Integrity Initiative and Co-Chair of OGP Steering Committee; Dr. E. Kojo Pumpuni Asante, Director of Partnerships and Policy Engagement, Ghana Centre for Democratic Development; Mr. Sammy Obeng Executive Director, Parliamentary Network Africa; Mr. Emmanuel Asomani Koranteng, Penplusbytes; Ms. Dorcas Tenkorang, Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition and Julius Kofi Satsi, FactSpace West Africa.
Ghana’s delegation engaged in a Ministerial roundtable meeting, took part in sessions on digital technology, anti-corruption, access to justice, access to information, local and civil society leaders and open parliament. Bilateral meetings were also held with the Chief Executive Officer, OGP and the French Development Agency. The Team held other discussions with the Independent Reporting Mechanism of the OGP, Infrastructure Transparency Initiative (CoST) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The conference which ended on Thursday, 27th March, 2025 engaged participants and experts in discussing various topics related to exploring innovative approaches in open government among member countries. The topics discussed at the meeting were Anti-Corruption - combatting graft and enhancing oversight; Climate Action - building collaborative solutions for environmental resilience; Digital Government - leveraging technology for efficient government; Fiscal Openness - transparent budgets and responsible expenditures; Access to Information - fostering an informed citizenry; Access to Justice - upholding the rule of law for all; Legislative Openness - inclusive policy-making and public engagement; and Local-National Open Government - bridging communities and national policy.
Ghana was recognized at the conference for submitting two commitments for Open Government Challenge. The OGP delegation received certificates for misinformation and disinformation, and improving gender equality. Ghana was therefore countered among one of the few countries in Africa and Middle East region to have submitted commitments to the Open Government Challenge.
OGP is an international initiative that seeks to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote openness, transparency, enhance citizen’s participation, promote accountability and adopt new technologies such as digitization to enhance good governance. Within the framework of promoting state – civil society collaboration, the OGP is governed by a Global Steering Committee comprising representatives of government and civil society organizations. Ghana officially signed onto the OGP in September 2011, and to meet its obligations under the Partnership, the country has developed and implemented four action plans with the fifth National Action Plan under implementation.
The conference ended successfully with the call to member countries to continue with their commitments based on the principles of good governance under the OGP initiative.