President John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday called on Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), to expose and sanction members of staff or group of people who try to impede the orderly progress of the Assemblies.
He also called on the Assemblies to set up job creation as a priority in order to provide jobs for the youth in their areas, to stem the perennial rural- urban drift of the young ones.
President Mahama said this when he inaugurated the second conference for MMDCEs on the theme: “Implementing the Better Ghana Agenda: The Sixth Milestone.”
The three-day conference, which would also serve as an orientation course for the MMDCEs, would educate them on draft consolidated Local Government Bill, preparations for District Level Elections, Code of Conduct for political office holders, and guidelines for conflict of interest situations, among other topics.
President Mahama said as a way of improving on the performance of the MMDCEs, government would expect a cordial relationship between politicians and civil servants in the execution of their duties.
He said government has established the Functional Organisational Assessment Programme, to monitor the progress of MMDCEs and other appointees, and urged them to strictly adhere to their codes of conduct, to bring out the best for the development of their localities.
President Mahama urged them to step up their internally generated funds to finance their development projects, rather than solely relying on funds from the central government for their development agenda.
In trying to generate more income, however, he cautioned them against over taxing the businesses, as that could deter them to move away from their areas of operation.
On the provision of infrastructure, President Mahama charged the Assemblies to work closely with the Ministries of Education of Education and Health, to coordinate and agree on areas where structures would be located, to avoid socio- political conflicts.
He said educational structures, for instance, were very instrumental, as that could eliminate the numerous schools under trees in their communities, and urged them to pursue that agenda to improve on the standards of education.
The President also urged the MMDCEs to prioritise the construction of sporting facilities in their areas, to harness sporting talents that could become national stars in future.
Mr Akwasi Oppong Fosu, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, advised the MMDCEs to always maintain their calm composure even at any provocation, and uphold national and public interests in their areas of operation.
He said leadership enjoins them to have the sense of purpose, passion and vision in the distribution of national resources to their communities to avoid internal conflicts.