KMA must let peace reign
The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly has been without a presiding member for a considerable length of time because of the entrenched positions taken by interest groups within the assembly.
Advertisement
There are some of the assembly members who equally had an axe to grind with the immediate past Chief Executive, Mr Kojo Bonsu, and for which they were not prepared to back out on the choice of the presiding member.
However, the position of the presiding member is critical for the operation of the assembly. Indeed, after they are sworn in, the assembly members have it as their first business the election of the presiding member, who, unlike the Chief Executive, is expected to be elected by not less than two-thirds of all the assembly members. In the case of the chief executive, the post holder must get two thirds of the assembly members present and voting, for as long as there is a quorum.
At the heart of the impasse is the partisan political rivalry between the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party. It was reported that some known loyalists of the NPP who lost in the district assembly elections defected to the NDC and were immediately rewarded with their selection as government appointees to the assembly. Some NDC die-hard supporters considered the decision to appoint the NPP defectors into the assembly as a stab and vowed to frustrate the process. On the other hand, NPP activists saw the defectors as traitors and saw their subsequent membership in the assembly as government appointees as a scandal and an insult.
Therefore, both NDC and NPP supporters resolved to undermine the process. Thus, an otherwise non-partisan system became embroiled in dysfunctional and fundamentalist partisan squabbles. It was ,therefore, not surprising when a group of residents went to the premises of the assembly to invoke the dreaded Antoa Deity to kill any assembly member who used the name of the NPP to get elected, but would vote against the perceived NPP person.
Around that time, there were reports that the chief executive had initiated a conciliatory process to enable the Adumhene, the choice of the government, to be confirmed. That was at a time that the Adumhene seemed to have received more votes than Nana Kofi Senya, the other contestant.
Since then, there have been a number of fruitless attempts to elect a presiding member, but each has ended in a deadlock, with none of the contestants getting the required percentage of votes. There were talks about compromises and trade-offs, but after each round of voting, the same blank is recorded, with none of the two protagonists getting the nod.
Each failed process is not just a cost to the assembly, but it delays the process of meaningful planning for the development of Kumasi and indirectly confers undeserved authority and powers on the chief executive to take decisions for the assembly.
Now that Mr Bonsu has resigned, it should be possible for the assembly to elect a presiding member. If the process is carried out with the same candidates and no winner emerges, then it will be advisable for both to withdraw such that a new person could be elected to enable the assembly members begin to exercise the mandate given them by the electorate.
Stories even abound that some contractors who are owed by the assembly had initiated legal action to retrieve their money and for which orders had been placed over most of the bank accounts of the assembly. A concomitant is that the assembly is alleged to be operating numerous accounts to outwit its creditors. But as soon as these accounts are found out, garnishee orders are placed over them.
The time has come for the assembly members to demonstrate their commitment to the development of the city and the welfare of their constituents by surrendering certain partisan interests for the good of the people.
It is equally important for the government to appreciate the fact that democracy is about the will of the majority. Therefore, if it is proved beyond doubt that the choice of the assembly members for a presiding member is not the one favoured by the government, matters should not be pushed beyond limits. After all, it is the right of the assembly to elect one of the members to that position.
As Rousseau once noted, “the strongest is never strong enough to be always a master unless he transforms strength into right and obedience into duty.”
As we move towards December 7, we must appreciate the need for cooperation and compromises. But at all times, there must be peace and order to ensure that we do not sacrifice the national cause for any partisan interest.