Dennis Miracles Aboagye, Director of Communications for the Bawumia 2024 campaign, wants the scrapping of the Regional Ministry desks across the country, describing it as a political stumbling block that undermines the autonomy and effectiveness of local assemblies.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily on Wednesday, May 21, he referred to the regional ministries as a medium for creating unnecessary interference and distractions for the work of Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) and an impediment to their operation with true autonomy.
“It is time for us to even dismantle the regional ministry because it is one of the reasons why we are not allowing the district assemblies to function. The district is autonomous. What can the regional minister do to a district chief executive, if not just political persuasion?”
He underscored that, by law, the role of Regional Minister is limited to supervision and coordination. However, he argued that in practice, their influence often extends beyond these boundaries, creating unnecessary interference, blurring lines of authority, and contributing to confusion and a breakdown of accountability within the local governance system.
“When the district assemblies sit down and make the law, the regional minister cannot unmake that bylaw. So what are they doing? It is just a political bottleneck meant to create more confusion at the local level,” he added.