Under the current 1992 Constitutional arrangement, Article 242 (paraphrased) District Assembly (non-partisan in nature) \u2013 is the highest political authority in the district and consists of the following:
\n(a) one person elected by universal adult suffrage from each electoral area
\n(b) the member of members of Parliament from constituents that fall within the
\narea of authority of the District Assembly (no voting power)
\n(c) the District Chief Executive of the district appointed by the President
\nwith executive powers and with the prior approval of not less than two-thirds
\n(2\/3) majority of the members of the Assembly present and voting at the meeting
\n(d) other members not being more than thirty percent (30%) of all the members
\nof the District Assemble, appointed by the President in consultation with the
\ntraditional authorities and other interest groups in the district
\nIn addition, Article 251 establishes the following:
\n(1) an Executive Committee of a District Assembly which shall be responsible
\nfor the performance of the executive and administrative functions of the
\nDistrict Assembly.
\n(2) the composition of the Executive Committee and the procedure for its deliberations shall be as provided for by law.
\nAgain, Article 252 (4): there shall be appointed by the President with the
\napproval of Parliament, a District Assemblies Common Fund Administrator.From the above, one can conclude that there is no autonomy in the current political and administrative dispensation of the District Assemblies. There is too much Executive (Presidency) control of the District Assemblies that defies the original intention of political autonomy and power of the citizens of various districts; decentralization of local government faux pas!
\nIn order to bring the true meaning of decentralization of local government in Ghana today, this article proposes a local government form that would uphold democratic tenets: Assembly\/Council \u2013 Manager Form of Government. It would also be non-partisan in nature to allow citizens to elect candidates that they can trust and also perform. Candidates would be elected among individuals who hail from the districts and not necessarily residing in the districts but must be available for monthly assembly meetings.
\nThe appointive powers of the Executive (President) enumerated in 1992 Constitution relative to local government have distorted the original intent of non-partisanship of the politics of local administration. The President who performs the executive functions of the country is also a political leader of his party. No wonder, since 1992, various MCEs\/DCEs that have been appointed to administer the assemblies have mirrored the political parties of the president of the ruling party. The Assembly\/Council \u2013 Manager Form of Government if adopted would register the intent of the non-partisanship of local government that the framers of the constitution
\nenvisioned.
\nAssembly\/Council \u2013 Manager Form of Government
\nIn this form of government, a Mayor or District\/Municipal\/Metropolitan Chief Executive would be elected by universal adult suffrage from the entire district. While there could be no term limitation in their service, Mayors or
\nDistrict\/Municipal\/Metropolitan Chief Executives and Assembly members could be elected to serve four-year term. The power of the Mayor is limited to performing ceremonial duties and presiding at assembly\/council meetings. His\/her ability to act as a policy leaderwould depend on the individual\u2019s personal leadership
\nskills rather than official power. Other members of the assemblies would be also elected on at-large basis among the rural District assemblies while members from Municipal and Metropolitan assemblies could be elected from each electoral area or combination of both at-large and electoral area.
\nAssembly and Mayor\/DCE\/MCE
\nWhile the Mayor\/DCE\/MCE has the responsibility of presiding at meetings of the
\nAssemblies, the primary functions of the Mayor\/MCE\/DCE and the Assemblies would
\nbe as follows:
\na) adopt budget
\nb) adopt ordinances
\nc) appoint Assembly\/Council Manager
\nIt is important to note that, under this form of government, rural district
\nassemblies could be limited to those governmental structures and power
\nspecifically granted by Parliament. However, metropolitan district assemblies
\ncould in addition, be encouraged to enact and adopt ordinances due to their
\ncomplex urban settings. This could be compared to the administration of local
\ngovernment system under General Law and Home Rule Cities in the State of Texas as prescribed by the State Legislature.
\nAssembly\/Council Manager
\nA professional Assembly\/Council Manager who is appointed by the Assemblies would be responsible for the day-to-day management and administration of the Assembly.
\nHe\/she would be charged to do the following:
\na) appoint department heads
\nb) supervises assembly bureaucracy
\nc) prepares budget of the Assembly
\nThe compensation of the Assembly\/Council Manager and the department heads would
\nbe determined by the Assembly and would be charged on the District Common Fund.
\nDistrict\/Municipal Common Fund Administrator\/Controller
\nThe District\/Municipal Common Fund Administrator\/Controller would be the custodian of the revenue of the Assembly. Currently, the President appoints the District Common Fund Administrator. Under the proposed form of government, he\/she would be appointed by the Assembly. Besides integrity, the Common Fund Administrator must demonstrate high professional excellence and capacity to deliver. His\/her responsibilities would include but not limited to the
\nfollowing:
\na) supervision and disbursement of assembly common fund
\nb) revenue generation through taxation and collection of fees
\nc) support Assembly budget preparation
\nDuality in local administration is impeding the effectiveness of
\ndecentralization of local government in Ghana. Government ministries in Accra have officers in all the district assemblies who supervise the work of the
\nministries.
\nAssembly members have to work in tandem with these government officers to execute public projects designed for their districts. But one does not overlook the fact that to paraphrase Ted O\u2019Neil, former House Speaker of US House of Representatives, \u201call politics are local\u201d. Assembly members must be given the freedom to determine what is good for their districts. The Assembly must supervise the existing departments and if need be create others with appointed heads to run effectively the administration of the districts.
\nFinally, one can conclude that should decentralization of local government be efficient and effective, district assemblies in the country must be given the freedom to elect officers. Competent candidates, no doubt would be lured to run for offices in the assemblies which would serve as incubators for future political leaders. Public service must be viewed to be a dedicated and honorable
\ncall for individuals who have passion to selflessly work for government.
\nSource: Kwame Acheampong,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Under the current 1992 Constitutional arrangement, Article 242 (paraphrased) District Assembly (non-partisan in nature) \u2013 is the highest political authority in the district and consists of the following: (a) one person elected by universal adult suffrage from each electoral area (b) the member of members of Parliament from constituents that fall within the area of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-275388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n