Hajia Alima (middle) addressing the participants
THE MINISTER of Local Government and Rural Development, Hajia Alima Mahama, has said her office has received numerous calls to sack DCEs for various reasons.
“I get a lot of letters to sack DCEs; I get that all the time”, she said to stakeholders yesterday in Sunyani during a sensitization workshop on the need to allow local people to elect their district chief executives to promote efficiency and democracy in local governance in the districts.
The workshop organized by her ministry was to collate views from stakeholders and sensitize them on the need to amend certain entrenched provisions of the 1992 Constitution to pave way for election of MMDCEs scheduled for 2021 as promised by the government.
Addressing the participants made up of Nananom, DCEs, district and municipal co-ordinating directors, civil society organizations, identifiable groups, political parties, the media, among others, Hajia Alima Mahama said there were overwhelming demand (about 70%) from Ghanaians (afro-barometer survey) to have their MMDCEs elected.
This will be in line with best international practices. The promise by President Akufo Addo to have MMDCEs elected during the 2016 electioneering campaign is a bold step to promote popular participation, democracy, election of competent people into office, security of tenure of MMDCEs and prevent winner-takes-all. These are some of the advantages.
“To be able to do that we have begun a process to remove a constitutional bottleneck which is Article 55 (3) of the 1992 Constitution that will lead to a referendum because it is an entrenched provision. We are collating your views to put in a policy document necessary for legal and institutional changes to enable us make the changes,” she said.
“This Article barred political parties from local level election, but the change we want will allow parties to be actively involved in the election of DCEs. And this will engender competition and lead to competent persons getting elected into office and prevent calls to sack DCEs,” she added.
Participants were taken through a roadmap designed by the ministry to embark on a series of activities from 2017 to 2021 when DCEs shall be elected. The current MMDCEs are going to be the last to be appointed by the president.
Besides, participants were taken through advantages and disadvantages of electing MMDCEs on political party lines, the need to involve all parties in the process and how central government can still check MMDCEs through the regional co-ordinating councils when elected, among other issues. The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh in a welcome address asked the participants to contribute good ideas to enhance the process.
FROM Daniel Y Dayee, Sunyani
danielyaodayee@yahoo.com