Dr. Ransford Gyampo
Dr. Ransford Gyampo, a senior lecturer at the Political Science Department of University of Ghana has criticised the mode of appointment of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) saying most of them are incompetent.
He also spoke about the excessive powers granted to the President in his appointment of MMDCEs.
Speaking at a roundtable discussion on dealing with Ghana’s winner takes all politics hosted by the Institute of Economic Affairs, Dr. Gyampo said he has been saddened by the gross incompetence of most MMDCE’s regarding the fact that most of them are not versed in matters relating to their jurisdiction and some have never even travelled out of their district to gain hands on experience in matters of progress in other districts.
“These are supposed to be people appointed based on their understanding of issues, skilled in matters of development and experts in various fields,” he asserted.
“Admittedly there are a few good ones but the bulk of the stock are generally incompetent ‘honourables’ who have been appointed based on their political loyalty and affiliation,” he lamented.
Speaking on the issue of appointment, he made it known that the original idea- post constitutional era, was to appoint competent people who can manage the districts “but the criteria changed gradually after we adopted constitutional rule.”
He opined that “even though we espouse to be practicing a non-partisan local government system, the system has put on a partisan gown and the situation must be given a critical look.”
Expressing worry about the winner takes all structure; Dr. Gyampo raised issues on the excessive powers of the president and his limitless appointment capability. “The President virtually appoints everybody and the issue of how much power the President has must be revisited and, the entire governance structure redefined,” he added.
According to him, the appointments are usually politically motivated and lack the right standards and procedures in appointing people based on expertise.