The election of district chief executives in Ghana could create problems in the local governance setup, Issaka Amon Kotei, a local governance expert, has said.
According to him, DCEs, if elected, will feel empowered in taking decisions without recourse to regional ministers, to whom DCEs report under the current local governance arrangement.
The Akufo-Addo government has indicated its commitment at ensuring the election of DCEs across the country.
Speaking during her vetting on Monday January 23, Local Government and Rural Development Minister-designate Hajia Alima Mahama said: “We are committed to our manifesto promise of electing MMDCEs, we are committed to the process. Definitely, it involves a lot of processes and we specifically stated that we would elect MMDCEs within a two-year framework and we are committed to the process.
“The Constitutional Review Commission was not entirely against this process; it provided that there should be direct election for the metropolitan assemblies and a different kind for municipal, whereas for the district assembly the status should remain. That was the recommendation, so it is not entirely against it. So we’re proposing that we should elect district chief executives – I believe that it is in tune with the constitutional provision.
“If you look at the directive principle of state policy, Article 35, it says that we should ensure that democracy becomes a reality by decentralising political administration and financial resources and ensuring that every citizen feels part of the decision making in every aspect of national life and I believe that if we elect district assemblies it’s one way of accountability. We will get them to be accountable to the citizens.
“For instance, parliament’s role is actually legislation but we all want to do development programmes in our constituencies because at the constituency level, people are looking for development. Therefore, if we have a DCE who is supporting development in the constituency and accountable to the people, I think that is the best way to go for it.”
However, speaking in an interview with Chief Jerry Forson, host of Ghana Yensom on Accra100.5FM, Mr Amon Kotei said: “We need to hold on with this election of DCEs and MCEs because of its consequences on the local government system. A regional minister is tasked with direct supervision, monitoring, coordination, and evaluation of activities in districts, but he is an appointee while the MCE was elected. Between the two, who do you think will feel more empowered?
“An appointed official and an elected official, who will have the power to act. Have we looked at that area? You can’t supervise the MCE who has been elected by the people. We really have to be careful in managing some of these things.”
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
