The Ranking Member of the Local Government Committee of Parliament, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, demanding President Akufo-Addo to as a matter of urgency publish the list of the appointed Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs).
Speaking on the Eyewitness News, Nii Lante Vanderpuye said “the constitution says that the President in exercising his discretionary powers cannot wait in perpetuity till he finds it convenient to appoint the MMDCEs. Local governance is a critical aspect of our national development.”
He said his committee will be forced to summon the Local Government Minister, before Parliament if the list is not published by the time the house resumes sittings.
“Our point is that the reports have been lying on the president’s table for weeks now, what is preventing him from acting on it? Legally, any decision taken by those acting in their stead now could be subject for litigation because what is their locus, the constitution never talks about the acting position.”
“To avoid all these we are asking that the President should as a matter of urgency come up with the list so we can move to approve them or otherwise, if by the time we resume Parliament, the list has not been published, we will summon the Minister of Local Governance to explain the reason behind the delay,” he added.
His comments come on the heels of comments by the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin that the delay in appointing MMDCEs is not in any way hampering development at the local government level.
The National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana on the other hand does not think there is cause for alarm.
The President of NALAG, Bismark Basie Nkum said “Indeed the process has delayed but we cannot backtrack it to January. The appointments were made somewhere in May. And so it is wrong to say it’s has delayed for 8 months. It has been for about 23 days and even with that there are acting executives in there and so these concerns are not weighty enough.”
“Also, we should know that the offices of the Chief Executives do not necessarily come to an end when the President’s does.”
The government has been criticised for the lack of progress in appointing new MMDCEs eight months into a new administration.
These appointments are the sole preserve of the President, per Article 243 (1) of the 1992 Constitution.
In January, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo directed all MMDCEs to remain at post until new ones are appointed.
Since then, over 1,300 persons have applied for the MMDCE vacancies nationwide.
These persons went through vetting processes in the various regions, and a committee was set up to assess and shortlist such persons and submit reports to the President.
