The Vice President, Pro­fessor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has called on citizens and stakeholders to take charge of the country's develop­ment by investing locally, instead of depending on foreign aid."We must let Ghana be a place where local initiative meets strategic investment, where accountability meets empowerment, and where development is done with ordinary people in mind," she said.Speaking at the third Ghana Civil Society Forum (GCSF) in Accra yes­terday, on the theme: "Reimagining Development Financing and Civic Action: Challenges, Opportunities, and the Way Forward," the Vice President noted that traditional mod­els of aid were no longer enough to meet the urgent development needs of Ghana and Africa.The Vice President said the forum was happening at a time when coun­tries in the Global South were under increasing pressure due to dwindling aid, rising debt, and shrinking fiscal space.She emphasized that develop­ment financing must go beyond just finding money "it must tackle power dynamics, empower citizens, and pri­oritise inclusivity and local agency".She stressed that civil society plays a critical role in this new vision, acting not only as watchdogs but also as co-creators of change which included youth and women's groups, traditional authorities, social move­ments, and academic institutions."We should work together on a social contract for development in Ghana and beyond, built on shared accountability, co-investment, and decentralised power," she said.She mentioned that a Non-Profit Bill was currently under development to address the gap, and called for stronger government-civil society platforms and increased support for local philanthropy and civic trust-building through mechanisms like open government partnerships and national budget town halls.She called on civil society to work with the government to co-create a social contract grounded in shared accountability, co-investment, and decentralised decision-making.United Nations Resident Co­ordinator to Ghana, Mr Osama MacKawy, in a speech read on his behalf, praised Ghana's vibrant civil society space for its contributions to democratic governance and citizen empowerment.He noted, however, that declining donor support and competition for resources are threatening the sustain­ability of civil society.According to him, the country must rethink its traditional aid-based financing model and adopt inno­vative approaches such as blended finance, diaspora bonds, and impact investment.The UN, he said, remained committed to supporting Ghana with technical assistance, fostering strategic collaboration, and aligning financing with the Sustainable Devel­opment Goals (SDGs).Convener of the forum and Executive Director of STAR-Ghana Foundation, Alhaji Ibrahim-Tanko Amidu, also shared concerns about the shrinking space for civil society due to aid reduction and rising debt servicing.He said the dominance of inter­national donor funding has created a situation where the priorities and fo­cus of many local CSOs were shaped more by external interests than by local needs.He called on civil society to reflect on its legitimacy, relevance, and capacity to contribute meaningfully to national development.Alhaji Tanko underscored the need for Ghana to rethink its devel­opment paradigms, explore inclusive governance frameworks, and am­plify voices of marginalised groups, especially young people, women, rural populations, and persons with disabilities. BY AGNES OPOKU SARPONG