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Alhaji Mohammed Kwaku Doku,The President of the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG)

Directive will save assemblies — NALAG President

The President of the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG), Alhaji Mohammed Kwaku Doku, has welcomed the directive of the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development to assemblies to appoint one of its members to preside over their meetings in the absence of elected presiding members (PMs). He said the directive would save the assemblies from grinding to a halt. NALAG is the umbrella organisation of all local authorities in Ghana.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra, Alhaji Doku, who is also the Municipal Chief Executive of Asunafo North in the Brong Ahafo Region, further indicated that many of the assemblies were going through difficult times as they were unable to elect PMs.

He argued that the minister had not contravened any law.

A number of metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) in the country have been unable to elect their presiding members although the assemblies have been inaugurated and are required to start full operations. Elections held in the affected assemblies to elect the PMs have ended in deadlocks.

Consequently, the sector minister, Alhaji Collins Dauda, issued a directive asking the assemblies to elect one of their own to preside over meetings until the election of substantive PMs. But the Minority in Parliament countered, describing the directive as unconstitutional.

At a press conference in Accra, the Minority spokesperson on Local Government, Mr Akwasi Amoako Atta, said any decision taken by an assembly with a non-elected presiding member would be null and void.

No law broken

Alhaji Doku argued that Section 18 (6) of the Local Government Act, which states that, “The minister shall make model standing orders for the conduct and proceedings of the assembly,” clothed the minister with the power to make the directive.

“After all, the directive is not in the minister’s interest but in the interest of the assemblies,” he said. The NALAG president said assemblies that were yet to elect their presiding members had become incapacitated.

“They are unable to approve their composite budgets which has grave consequences for their operations,” he said.

No politicisation 

Alhaji Doku called on politicians to take their hands off the operations of the assemblies so that the assemblies could effectively discharge their constitutional obligations.

He said at a time that many national institutions had been politicised, the assemblies remained the only avenue for Ghanaians to advance local governance in a non-politicised environment.   

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