Former Accra Mayor Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah says Ghana should reform its local government system before electing Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs).
His comments come amid proposals by the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) to introduce elections for MMDCEs as part of reforms to strengthen local governance and decentralisation.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s Face to Face, Nii Adjei Sowah said electing MMDCEs without changing the existing system would not necessarily improve the management of cities.
“I’m not for voting because it will not change anything. You will end up producing all kinds of people because the system that will make you function has not been done yet,” he told host Umaru Sanda Amadu.
He said elected local government leaders needed greater control over the administrative structures and personnel required to implement their plans.
“Your whole staff is not recruited by you. You can’t hire and fire. Your city coordinating director is from somewhere. Somebody has to send them to you. Your planning director, your finance director, they have all been transferred from somewhere to you. You don’t have control, so you are just there as a figurehead,” he said.
Nii Sowah said local government reforms should therefore precede any move to elect MMDCEs.
“I’m against the election because unless you change the law and give the power to the city authority, and then when you are electing the person, you know that you have given the power to the person you elect,” he said.
He stressed that the debate should focus not only on who occupies the position but also on the powers and institutional framework available to them.
“I’ve heard about the election of MMDCEs, but I’m saying, what do we want to achieve? It is not just the individual that you are putting in place. There is a system. If the system hasn’t changed, it means that you are putting somebody who is going to be non-performing. So it’s a working relationship that you have,” he said.
Source | Citinewsroom
