Elect assembly members for lower manya now

Article 240 Clause (1) of the 1992 Constitution says, “Ghana shall have a system of local government and administration which shall, as far as practicable, be decentralised.”

And for the purposes of local government, the country has been divided into districts. Article 241 Clause (3) also says, “Subject to this Constitution, a district assembly shall be the highest political authority in the district and shall have deliberative, legislative and executive powers.”

The Constitution did not only devolve power to the districts but also set aside a percentage of national revenue, known as the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), to support the activities of the assemblies.

Although the quantum of the DACF is not enough to provide for the needs of the people in the districts, that support has gone a long way to provide projects in the health, educational and sanitation sectors.

The district assemblies have the power to transform lives in the countryside if they work hard to mobilise additional resources to supplement the DACF.

Quite understandably, many observers were worried when, recently, there was widespread agitation over the nomination and confirmation of district chief executives (DCEs) across the length and breadth of the country.

If district assemblies that are operating at full capacity still have challenges in meeting the needs of the people, then those with difficulties may be failing in their key functions of exercising deliberative, administrative and executive functions.

It is against this backdrop that the Daily Graphic calls on the government to look at the challenges confronting the Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Assembly. Since 2010, the assembly has not elected its assembly members.

The last time the Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Assembly elected assembly members was in 2006. It was unable to do so in 2010 because of litigation over Akuse and seven other communities that some chiefs in the Dangme West District were laying claim to.

That matter has been put to rest by a Supreme Court ruling of June 28, 2013, but it appears the authorities are dragging their feet over the conduct of assembly polls in the Lower Manya Krobo municipality.

The chiefs and people of Manya Krobo might have gone to the extreme by deciding to withhold tolls and levies to the assembly, but the crux of the matter is that as things stand now, nobody can blame them for their desperate action.

The Daily Graphic calls on the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the Electoral Commission to exercise their mandate under the laws of the country to conduct district assembly elections in Lower Manya Krobo now.

In the meantime, we call on the chiefs and people of Lower Manya Krobo to exercise restraint and use all legitimate means to get their grievances resolved as soon as possible.

Daily Graphic/Ghana