Appointment of MMDCEs — President urged to break from tradition
The Presiding Member of the Atwima Kwanwoma District Assembly in the Ashanti Region, Mr Tony Yeboah-Asare, has called on the President to break from tradition and bring innovation in the appointment of Chief Executives for the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
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He noted that the situation where partisan loyalty ruled over competence and qualification could not be sustained if the developmental needs of the people, especially those in the rural communities, were to be satisfied.
Speaking in an interview in Kumasi, Mr Yeboah-Asare said it was important for President Mahama to depart from that order in choosing his MMDCEs in the same way as he appeared to be doing in the nomination of ministers.
Mr Yeboah-Asare, who is a professional architect and the assembly member for Nweneso Number 1, stated that majority of the districts, especially the rural and newly created ones, were failing to stand on their feet because of lack of competent and dedicated leadership as well as the required technical staff at those levels.
He emphasised that the decentralised system left the development of districts in the hands of MMDCEs.
“Per the Local Government Act, 1993, Act 462, MMDCEs are the heads of the executive committees of their respective areas. They are responsible for the supervision of the departments and are also the spending officers of the assemblies.
“If these responsibilities are not in capable hands, the people in that geographical locality suffer unduly,” the presiding member stressed.
Mr Yeboah-Asare also stressed the need for a serious view to be taken of persons selected as government appointees to the MMDAs.
He expressed concern that many of them in the past were appointed due to their party loyalty without their competence and qualification being looked into.
The presiding member said it demanded technical expertise to monitor the effective implementation of development projects in the districts.
However, he said the assemblies lacked such key technical experts, since expertise was expensive to come by.
Story by Kwame Asare Boadu
