Mr Alfred Asiedu Adjei, Presiding Member of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly has appealed to the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG) to work around the clock to reverse the current trend in dissolution of Assemblies.
He said although the tenure of office members were supposed to be four years, in most cases they were dissolved before the next elections creating a vacuum that could also impede the orderly progress of the Assemblies.
Mr Adjei who said this in a message during the opening ceremony of the 2023 Greater Accra Presiding Members two-day conference in Accra said if the constitution had spelt out that it should be a four-year tenure for Assemblies, then it should be followed to a logical conclusion, to avoid gaps.
He explained that in most cases, the Assemblies were dissolved some weeks before the elections, allowing the Assemblies to fallow for a while, was not apt in democratic governance.
The conference, which was on the theme:” Actualising environmental sanitation in Greater Accra, the role of Presiding Members”, among other issues built the capacity of members on functions of Presiding Members and initiatives towards the development of Assemblies.
He also called for frequent training of Assembly members for them to be acquainted with the rules and regulations of their work.
“I have decided to choose the path of training or capacity building for Presiding Members, Assembly members and Unit Committee members because what I see and hear, many honourable members do not have a thorough understanding of the local government system.”
Mr Adjei, who is also the Secretary of the Greater Accra Presiding Members said after the creation of new Assemblies, only Assembly members were trained neglecting Unit Committee members and other sub-structures to acquaint themselves with the decentralization programme.
“It will be a good Idea, if Unit Committee members and the sub-structures are included in the training, but it should please be adequate.”
Mr Baba Seidu, Representative of the Regional Minister encouraged the Presiding Members to continue serving the country loyally, despite the challenges the country was going through.
He said the PMs were the core players of grassroots democracy as they presided over law making and implementation at the local levels and should therefore be revered for their meaningful contribution towards development.
He commanded the Greater Accra Assemblies for retaining most of their Assembly members and Presiding Members as continuity could enhance development.
He announced that the Ashanti, Western and Northern Regions were also making moves to initiate sanitation programmes as a sequel to the Greater Accra Regional Minister’s “operation clean your frontage.”
Mr Samson Akwetey, Representative of Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources said rapid population growth and urbanisation had contributed to sanitation challenges in the cities and urban areas and called on Assemblies to re-strategise against filth.
He called on the Assemblies to put up monitoring measures to arrest people engaged in the destruction of Sanitation facilities in the cities.
At the end of the opening ceremony, the Presiding Members presented a giant plaque in honour of the Regional Minister.
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