Assembly staff are naive of local government systems - MCE

Municipal Chief Executive for the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly, Hon. Ibrahim Baidoo, has called on local government services to "step up" their duty" to provide capacity building to workers within Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).

According to him, they are naive of local government operations.

He said most of the technocrats, apart from the classroom experience, need to be trained on local government systems.

He said, "I think that local government systems need to update or upgrade the capacities of the assembly staffs in terms of giving them some orientation and training to appreciate what the local government system is all about."

The MCE described it as worrying and challenging, the emergence of novices in the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, and said it is a "major setback" to the development of the local government system.

"Most officers are posted to the assemblies and they do not have adequate knowledge about local governance, and as MCE, it is difficult sometimes in getting people or pushing people to respond to certain calls or decisions taken at the assembly level,” Hon. Ibrahim Baidoo added.

Hon. Ibrahim said it is very stressful dealing with such officers and therefore urged the local governance service to move fast in building capacities of officers of the various assemblies.