By Stephen Asante, GNA
Kumasi, Oct. 10, GNA – President Nana Addo
Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is optimistic that Ghana’s commitment to pursue accountable
and transparent democratic governance, especially at the local level would lead
to accelerated growth.
He said the success of any government in the
implementation of its development agenda, to a large, depended on a
well-orchestrated participatory governance.
“If the central government functions
well, it means the local government is working,” President Akufo-Addo, an
ardent advocate for the rule of law, noted.
He was addressing a training programme of
the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) in Kumasi.
This was part of the itinerary on his
three-day working visit to the Ashanti Region, to inspect on-going development
projects and also interact with the chiefs and people.
“A local governance system that brings
on board all identifiable stakeholders in the decision-making processes,
project planning and implementation, is the way the nation should go to enhance
the wellbeing of the people,” he said.
The training programme brought together
Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), and key players
in the decentralized local government system, to discuss development issues.
It also looked at the proposed reforms to
deepen accountable governance through the election of MMDCEs, which is intended
to modify the current constitutional mandate authorizing the President to
nominate them and transfer that prerogative to the citizenry.
Ghana had since 1992 under the Fourth
Republican Constitution, embraced the local governance system, prosecuting its
development agenda through the decentralized departments.
This system had over the years been adopted
and replicated in some African countries, serving as the model for the
governance of their people.
President Akufo-Addo emphasized that
allowing the citizenry to choose their own MMDCEs vis-a-vis the existing
practice which limited that responsibility to the local assemblies, would
initially come with its own challenges and friction.
“However, we should find a way to
co-exist,” he advised, and drew inferences from scenarios and practices in
countries such as South Africa and Kenya, where the choice of MMDCEs lied
solely with the electorate.
“You do not govern without the concern
of those governed,” President Akufo-Addo stated, stressing that it was
necessary to entrench accountability in the nation’s political endeavours.
“It is a progressive step we are taking
to further modernize our democracy. It is a moment of history for us,” the
President noted.
Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister of Local
Government and Rural Development, pointed out that the local assemblies played
a critical role in the nation’s course of development.
It is, therefore, the vision of the
central government to inject efficiency in the work of the local government to
help meet the needs of the people.
GNA
