A section of the MDCEs at the swearing-in ceremony
THE ASHANTI Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah, has entreated District Chief Executives (DCEs) of the newly created Municipal and District Assemblies to be modest and humble in order to develop cordial working relationship with all stakeholders.
The minister also wants the DCEs to be approachable, affable and friendly to all manner of people.
Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony of 11 municipal and district chief executives in Kumasi, Mr. Osei-Mensah asked them to develop great team spirit to win the support and co-operation of the people who have kept the assembly running.
He stated that people like the assembly members, the traditional authorities, the media, and civil society organizations are the major stakeholders who should not be taken for granted in the scheme of things.
The minister said: “As you are already aware, the President nominated you to serve the people and not to lord your position over them. Always remember that your appointment is offering you the rare opportunity to contribute your quota to the development in your area and at the end of your tenure, you will be judged particularly by public opinion, as to whether you served them well or not”.
He drew their attention to the implementation of LI 1961, which imposes great responsibilities on Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to supervise staff of decentralized departments that are departments of the assembly.
The minister tasked the newly sworn-in MMDCEs to immediately take charge of security issues in the districts as well as revenue generation and judicious use of public funds without delay, bearing in mind that accountability is a household phrase in the assemblies.
He expected the MMDCEs to submit required documentations on time and strictly monitor the flagship programmes of the government, which include the Free SHS programme, ‘One District, One Factory’ (IDIF), Planting for Food and Jobs, among other programmes.
He disclosed: “As part of the performance management system of the local government service to which we all belong, you will be required to sign a performance contract. Under this contract, targets will be set for which you and your municipals and districts will be assessed on in a bid to actualize the vision of government in its outlined programmes”.
Thirty-eight (38) new districts were created in 2017 across the country by government. The Ashanti Region has 13 municipal and district assemblies. They were inaugurated in March, 2018.
So far, out of the 13 confirmations conducted, 11 were successful and two nominees were not confirmed.
The assemblies involved are Kwadaso Municipality and Afigya-Kwabre South District. The nominee at Kwadaso did not obtain 50 per cent and therefore it requires the President to re-nominate him before confirmation can take place, according to the regional minister.
He added that another election would be organized on Wednesday, August 8, 2018, for the nominee for the Afigya-Kwabre South District Assembly.
From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi