A Special Adviser to the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Dr. Eric Oduro Osae, has allayed fears of possible sabotage if Metropolitan, Municipal or District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) are elected and not appointed by the President.
According to him, the election of an MMDCE who does not belong to the ruling government will ensure checks and balances, as most of them will work hard to develop their districts to be voted into power again. Governments in the past have been appointing MMDCEs as mandated by the constitution. The current government has, however, proposed the election of the local government executives, which has necessitated the review of Articles 243(1) and 55(3) of the Constitution.
Dr Oduro Osae said this in an interview on Sunyani-based Nimdee FM when he shared his thoughts on the December 17, 2019 referendum. Dr. Oduro Osae stressed that “active partisan involvement in the local governance, aside the accountability it will come with, will also promote political parties which do not have representation in parliament to be seen in the local level, whiles the winner takes all syndrome will be dealt with.”
Arguably, some think tanks in Ghana have described the country’s democracy as infantile, and development may not be automatically achieved if MMDCEs are elected along party lines, but Lawyer Dr. Osae disagrees.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG), Dr. Emmanuel Akwetey, has said the election of MMDCEs will enhance grassroots accountability. Dr. Emmanuel Akwetey said reviewing the Articles 243(1) and 55(3) will affect the necessary grassroots development and participation needed for development. “We do not have problems with different parties in Parliament.
“In our history, we have not admitted that parties can be in the executive arm and local government is absolutely an area where governing and opposition parties are represented, and therefore they work together to bring about development. The point is, if we amend 55 (3) it is actually a huge decision to reform the system and cure the kind of problems we live with,” he said
“We now have a situation where there are two bills in the House. If you take Articles 243 (1) and 55 (3) you have something phenomenal. These are two articles that define the hybrid system and the winner takes all system. They are also the two articles that could transform local government than we have ever known since independence,” Dr Akwetey noted.
According to Dr Akwetey, the referendum is an opportunity for the citizenry to change the rules and create room for more inclusive participation.
The election of MMDCEs was a major campaign promise of the New Patriotic Party in the run-up to the 2016 election. The government has already presented the amendment of Article 243 (1) of the 1992 Constitution bill which requires the President to appoint MMDCEs to Parliament.
When passed, all MMDCEs would be elected by Universal Adult Suffrage after the 2020 general election.
Currently, Article 243 (1) of the 1992 Constitution stipulates that District Chief Executives for every district are to be appointed by the President, with the prior approval of not less than two-thirds majority of members of the assembly present and voting at the meeting.
In addition, the Bill amending Article 55 (3) would also pave the way for political parties to sponsor candidates for elections of the MMDCEs and the Assembly Members.
President Akufo-Addo, in recent developments, urged the MMDCEs to take the upcoming referendum for the election seriously. He said that the government could not afford to fail in delivering on the campaign promise it made to the Ghanaian populace, since it is critical for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2020 general elections.
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