Chiefs must make 30 percent appointees to assemblies - Kwamena Ahwoi

Takoradi, July 8, GNA - Mr Kwamena Ahwoi, a Principal Lecturer at GIMPA, on Thursday proposed that the power vested in the president to mak e thirty percent appointees to the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies should rather be vested in traditional rulers. This is because the chiefs who are non partisan live with the people in the communities and know the competent and knowledgeable ones to be appointed to the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDA). Mr Ahwoi, a former Local Government Minister, argued out that the assembly concept was non partisan therefore the president, a party member

was likely to be influenced by political interest, to appoint his party members who might not be qualified enough for the job as party members ma ke the nominations.

Mr Ahwoi made the suggestion at a day' s public lecture, organized b y the Western Regional Coordinating Council (WRCC) on the decentralization and local government for stakeholders drawn from the Western Region at Takora di. The lecture was held on the theme, "One Step Forward; The Significan ce of the Legislative Instrument in the Metropolitan, Municipal and District

Assemblies' Capacity Building."

It was attended by metropolitan, municipal, district chief executive s, coordinating directors, officials of the MMDAs, heads and representatives of the decentralized institutions, opinion leaders and traditional rulers. Mr Ahwoi noted that the system of governance that allowed chiefs to make their nominations to the assemblies worked to perfection in the PNDC

regime, but this changed on the onset of the political democracy and has continued to now. The Principal Lecturer referred to recent incidents in certain districts where some DCE appointees made by the president were rejected b y the communities, saying, the unfortunate situation would not have happene d if traditional rulers had made such nominations. Turning to the call at some quarters that the position of metropolit an, municipal and district chief executive be subjected to public election, M r Ahwoi noted that if this is upheld it would create room for non competent

people to hold the positions. He said if accepted, election of chief executives would definitely b e based on popularity and not competency, citing an instance where a positi on was thrown for election and a conservancy labourer who had no knowledge about the subject matter was elected against a lawyer. The people later regretted but had no choice than to accept him, therefore he called on the populace to consider the issue critically befo re taking a concrete decision.

In a welcoming address, Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, Western Regional Minist er called for the deepening of local level democracy by rationalizing and strengthening the structures and systems of local government. He mentioned the implementation of the composite budgeting, saying, once the MMDAs are in control all the budgets of their departments, every

employee would fall in line.