This past week, something important happened. But most Ghanaians do not
know it. It was reported on a select few media platforms but not much
attention was given to it.
That is a shame on all of us. But our President must not follow suit.
He must address it during his 2014 State of the Nation Address to
Parliament and the People of the Republic of Ghana.
Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan announced to Parliament's Audit Committee that
District Assembly elections cannot be held as scheduled and will not be
conducted this year as expected. He went further to blame government for
not providing funds in a timely manner for the Electoral Commission to
do its work according to schedule and efficiently.
If the EC Chairman had announced the postponement of national elections
for President and Members of Parliament, the country and its airwaves
would have been boiling overtime. But this is about Metropolitan,
Municipal and District Assembly and Unit Committee membership – the ones
that many walk upon as if they are not worth anything and not important
except as political tools to help parties in power carry partisan
favour to win national elections.
As we discuss how to restructure the economy, direct it in a positive
direction and accelerate development, we cannot leave our local
governments out of the list of areas that need urgent reforms. The fact
of the matter is that our Assemblies are today used as political
agencies rather than tools for development. It is this plain truth that
has prevented NDC-Rawlings, NPP-Kufuor, NDC-Atta-Mills and now
NDC-Mahama from allowing amendment to the 1992 Constitution for
unfettered election of our Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief
Executives (MMDCEs) and all Assembly Members.
This political approach to local government has led to very slow
development in our villages, towns and cities. President Mahama should
put partisan politics aside and choose a strong path to development.
This he can do by announcing a decision to recommend an amendment to the
Constitution to allow the people to elect their MMDCEs without any
interference from the President.
This is all against the backdrop that participation in local government
elections has dropped consistently over the years due to apathy borne
out by the people’s experience that Assembly and Unit Committee
elections do not do much to improve the living conditions of the local
people.
The people know that the Assemblies are controlled by the members the
party in power appoints and so who they elect as Assembly or Unit
Committee members cannot affect their standard of living – so why
bother? The MMDCEs are not elected directly by the people and have no
reasons to listen to them. So, they do what the President and their
party desires whether the people benefit or not. This is one of the
problems that affect our economy – lack of active promotion of
development in our towns and villages by our local governments. Our
local areas remain underdeveloped mainly because the leaders, the
Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives are selected by
one person - the President based on political patronage.
It is the view of the Mahama Administration that in “decentralizing in a
unitary state, a delicate balance ought to be struck between central
control and local autonomy”. The government has therefore decided that
“Article 243(1) of the constitution should be amended for the President
to nominate a minimum of five (5) persons who would be vetted by the
Public Services Commission (PSC) for competence after which three (3)
nominees would contest in a public election”. This proposal will apply
to all categories of assemblies - Metropolitan, Municipal and District.
The Government’s White Paper on the Report of the Constitution Review
Commission (CRC) differs significantly from the will of the people as
told to the Commission. The Commission watered down the people’s choices
but specifically recommended “… that Parliament should be empowered to
determine specific mechanisms for choosing MMDCEs, which should vary
according as Metropolis, a Municipality or a District.”
A retired Justice of the Supreme Court and other citizens have called
for the election of all assembly members to help strengthen the nation’s
decentralization programme. They believe that the present power of the
president to appoint people to the assemblies is undemocratic, and
distorts the concept of decentralization. “When the members of the
assemblies are all directly elected, we would have local government in
the true sense with the assembly members answerable to the people… Chief
Executives of the assemblies must also be elected which would make them
accountable ....”
I have served as an elected member of Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem
Municipal Assembly representing the Akotobinsin Electoral Area.
Therefore, I have experienced at first hand the dictatorship of
government-appointed assembly members and MMDCEs. Appointed MMDCEs and
Assembly Members have very little or no motivation to work hard to
develop the local economy and rather wait on central government.
Consequently, they increase the burden of national government and make
solving our entrenched economic problems very difficult.
The first Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS 1 2003-2005) promised
to remove all constitutional impediments by the end of 2004. Under
section 9.2.2 on decentralization, it was targeted that Ghana will
initiate processes of changing the Constitution to get all District
Chief Executives and Assembly Members elected by 2004. That did not
happen. Our current President can choose to be a reformer in favour of
the people. A declaration by President Mahama will enable a shift in our
attitude towards local government, push competent people to compete to
become MMDCEs and give the people the power to demand top performance
from those they elect directly.
February 22, 2014
Source: Papa Kwesi Nduom
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