By Stephen Asante, GNA
Kumasi, Oct. 23, GNA – The election of
Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) is a necessity
if Ghana is to broaden the base of her democratic dispensation, Mr Simon
Osei-Mensah, Ashanti Regional Minister, has noted.
“We need on board the active participation
of all the political parties in our development processes, especially at the
district level, for sustainable political stability and socio-economic growth,”
he said.
Therefore, the impending December 17
Referendum on Article 55 (3) was a crucial exercise since it sought to
fine-tune the entrenched provision in the 1992 Constitution, which barred the
involvement of political parties in the District Level Elections, he said.
“We should not act as hypocrites since the
District Level Elections come with their own political undertones.”
Mr Osei-Mensah said this when he addressed a
training workshop for District Information Officers and cinema operators of the
Information Services Department (ISD) in the Ashanti Region.
Ghanaians will, on December 17, have the
opportunity to either reject or endorse a change in the Entrenched Clause to
pave way for the involvement of political parties in the election of assembly
and unit committee members.
To achieve this amendment, however, a
critical minimum of over 40 per cent turn-out with over 75 per cent endorsement
is required.
Mr Osei-Mensah said the Government, taking
cognizance of the significance of grassroots participation in democratic
dispensation had, as a result, resolved to give the requisite technical and
material support to institutions mandated to create awareness on the impending
referendum.
He indicated that the election of MMDCEs
would, among other things, promote transparency and accountability in
governance, and bring an end to the ‘winner-takes-all’ syndrome, which had
dominated the political landscape under the Fourth Republican Constitution.
Nana Akrasi Sarpong, the Regional ISD
Director, described the impending referendum as a litmus test for staff of the
Department, and urged them to work assiduously for a successful exercise.
GNA
