Augustine Collins Ntim
A Deputy Minister-designate for Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, Augustine Collins Ntim, has stated that the ministry only provides what he called ‘constructive interference’ in the operation of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
He said the constructive interference is based on respect for the vision and direction of the President and it is done for public good.
According to him, the MMDAs are programmed to deliver certain sets of goals and they do so within the framework of the district plan, which is supervised by the Ministry of Local Government “in accordance with direction and vision of Mr. President.”
Taking his turn at the vetting by the Appointments Committee of Parliament on Thursday, Mr. Ntim said as much as the ministry wants to reduce the level of interference, it also has a duty to ensure that the MMDAs operate within the visions and principles of the government.
“We also make sure that the Assemblies work within their own short to medium term expenditure framework of annual budget. We (at the ministry) supplement and monitor so that they don’t go out of the expenditure framework,” he explained.
On the beautification of cities, the nominee who is also the NPP MP for Offinso North, acknowledged the relevance of the services provided by the Department of Parks and Gardens, saying that the service provisions seem to broaden “the distinctive values of the cities and for that matter we need to support them.”
He, however, indicated that the activities of the Parks and Gardens were limited to the national and regional capitals, and supported calls for the services of the department to be decentralised to get to the districts.
“This is a vision that my minister has given an indication to pursue, and we are going to form that strong team to be able to support him to achieve that,” he stated.
Street Naming
On street naming, he agreed to suggestions to intensify approach to digitalisation, intimating that the Vice President’s office was committed to the issues of street naming and digitalisation and it has given the presidential fiat.
He also told the committee that the Kumasi Market phase II has commenced after the initial challenges of evacuating some of the traders who occupied the land, and said that all the issues, mostly related to utilities, has since been addressed.
“The contractor has conducted the initial feasibility work and I believe that very soon the project will take off,” he said.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House