Dan Botwe
Barring any last-minute changes, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Dan Botwe, will put out list of nominated Chief Executives for all the Metropolitan Municipal District Assemblies (MMDCAs) across the country.
Dan Botwe will reveal the names of the MMDCEs in collaboration with the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah during the minister’s press conference on Sunday 1pm.
Already, political strategist and legal practitioner, Gabby Otchere-Darko have given the strongest indications that the list of MMDCEs will be put out on Sunday and put to bed all speculations.
“Tomorrow all the speculations will be over, including fake lists and recommendations. Sunday, the Local Government Minister, alongside the Information Minister, shall address a press conference and put the official list of MCEs and DCEs out.”
He further revealed that the list would be published on the Information Minister website after the announcement.
“The only list which matters! Same list will be put on the Info Ministry website afterwards so you can check it for yourself.
“Until then, we are advised to ignore all lists and all publications for just one day p3!
Finally, this is not a do or die affair. The President appoints and he does so not to deliberately disappoint anyone but to get his work done. It is that simple. Let’s live with it and make progress”, he said.
Information available to DGN Online indicates that last Thursday September 16, 2021, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo submitted the list of MMDCEs to Dan Botwe, Director of Communications at the Office of the President, Eugene Arhin disclosed in a Facebook post.
The Director of Communications in his social media post confirmed that the President has finalised the list of nominees and that the Local Government Minister will soon announce the names.
Some of the new faces to takeover current MMDCE positions include former Deputy Greater Accra Regional Minister, Elizabeth Sackey who is expected to be the first female MCE for the capital to be appointed by any President.
She is expected to replace Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah as the Metropolitan Chief Exceutive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA).
Catherine Reckling, the District Chief Executive for Sekyere South District in Ashanti region, and Martina Appiah Nyantakyi, the Municipal Chief Executive Officer for Ahafo Ano North in the Ashanti Region are expected to remain at post, according to snippets of information picked up.
However, Diana Attaa-Kusiwaa, Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Nkoranza South in the Bono East region is tipped to be retained likewise Margaret Darko, the Municipal Chief Executive for Suhum Municipal Assembly in the Eastern Region.
Meanwhile, new entrants are Josephine Awuku Ansaa Inkoom for Ayensuano District in Eastern Region, Anna Adukwe Addo will replace Adwoa Amoako at the Tema West Municipal Assembly (TWMA) in the Greater Region whiles Zuweiratu Mada Nashiru who is tipped to head Chereponi District Assembly will be some of the new female faces among over 30 female MMDCEs tipped to be appointed by the President.
On Friday the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) admonished it party supporters to remain calm and respect whoever President Akufo-Addo will nominate to represent him as Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives.
According to the party, the list of nominees is ready and would be made public anytime soon by government.
Addressing a news conference in Accra on Friday, September 17, 2021, the Director of Communications of the NPP, Yaw Buaben Asamoa advised the rank and file of the party that although not everyone will have his or her preferred candidate nominated by the President but they should respect and accept choices of the President and support them to succeed.
“The second thing is the imminent publication of the list of MMDCEs. Having patiently waited for the list, we expect the nominees to be accepted in good faith. Every nominee on the list as will be published is a nominee of H.E the President. Therefore, the expectation is that the Party grassroots will respect the choices and receive and support the approval of these nominees for the benefit of the Party. We recognise that not everybody in every Assembly will have their preferred choice. However, we also believe that as much as possible, every eligible candidate has had a fair bite of the selection process.
“Ladies and gentlemen, now that the selection process is over, we urge all former contestants and stakeholders to adopt the nominees as their own, encourage smooth confirmation processes, and support approved MMDCEs to deliver the best to their areas. Once the list is published, competition in any form, ought to end.
“We urge everybody to be calm and to act in ways that promote good relations at a working level in order to give the nominees the best possible opportunity to work in the interest of the grassroots of the nation. Having said that, we also advise the nominees to, as much as possible, open up and provide space for all shades of opinion in their work,” Buaben Asamoa said.
“The selection process, according to the NPP’s communications director, reflects the President’s vision for “our local governance system and country at large”.
The party also advised the nominees to, as much as possible, be open and provide space for divergent opinions.
Touching on the party’s ongoing mass registration of its members, Mr. Asamoa expressed concerns about how some officers are preventing some members from registering, thinking that, the register will be used for internal elections.
He stated that “Party officer election registers shall be compiled differently and will be done later per guidelines to be issued… So, we are assuring all our polling station executives to open up, work hard and try and capture as many persons who are likely to vote NPP as possible. The names should also go into the books that have been provided. Names in any other book not provided by the party for this exercise will not be valid or properly captured.”
By Vincent Kubi