Stop Abusing Your Powers to Nominate MMDCEs – ChaLoG to President Akufo-Addo
The Chamber for Local Governance (ChaLoG) has been completely taken aback by the recent pronouncements by the President with respect to the delayed nomination of MMDCEs.
The President is on record to have said that the delay in nominating the MMDCEs is largely due to his inability to have the MMDCEs elected directly by the citizens.
ChaLoG finds the claims being made by the President as highly untenable and at best a blatant abuse of the powers vested in him by the constitution as the person with the power to nominate MMDCEs for the 260 MMDAs across the country.
ChaLoG wishes to remind the President, that what the abotive referendum meant to achieve was the Amendment of Article 55 (3) of Ghana’s 1992 Republican Constitution which among other things states “Subject to the provisions of this article, a political is free to participate in shaping the political will of the people, to disseminate information on political ideas, social and economic programmes of a national character, and sponsor candidates for election to any public office either than to District Assemblies or lower local government unit”.
If this amendment were to have been carried through, it would have just paved the way for the Local Government System to become partisan. Which meant that Political Parties would have participated in the 2023 and beyond District Assembly and Unit Committee Elections, but not to have automatically led to the election of MMDCEs.
ChaLoG wishes to point out to the President that, if he was really committed to the election of MMDCEs (as he is making Ghanaians to believe today). He should have caused Parliament to amend Article 243 (1) of the Constitution which states “There shall be a District Chief Executive for every district who shall be appointed by the President with prior approval of not less than two-thirds majority of the Assembly Members present and voting” then and only then will Ghanaians have known that he was truly committed to the election of MMDCEs.
ChaLoG will in the coming days engage the National House of Chiefs, the National Chief Imam, the Christian Council of Ghana, Political Parties and all relevant stakeholders to bring pressure to bear on the President to stop the further delay of nominating the MMDCEs.
Long Live Ghana
Long Live Local Governance
Long Live ChaLoG
Signed
Dr. Richard Fiadomor President 0243138633
Hon. Romeo Elikplim Akahoho Executive Secretary 0244967680
Hon Alhaji Ibrahim F. Faila Public Relations Officer 0244237456
Ing. Joshua Quist Director of Research 0546456940
Cc
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