CSOs demand quick release of list of MMDCE appointees

The Civil Society Organisations Platform for Good Governance (CSOPGG) has demanded that President Akufo-Addo release the list of appointees for the positions of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) for all the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAS).

The CSOPGG also demanded that the President ensured that the list was gender balanced and inclusive, adding “At least 30 per cent of MMDCEs in every region should be females”.

Members of the CSOPGG made the demand in a statement at a meeting in Tamale on Thursday on the delay in appointing MMDCEs.

The statement was read by Mr Alhassan Mohammed Awal, Executive Director of Norsaac, and the meeting was convened and coordinated by Norsaac.

The statement said “We note with dissatisfaction, the President’s decision to keep MMDCEs in acting capacity for close to a year and creating confusion in our minds as to whether they are serving their second term as per the provision of Article 246 (2) of the 1992 Constitution.”

It said “That the so-called acting capacity of MMDCEs has weakened the Executive authority in the assemblies and has subsequently affected the legislative and deliberative powers and functions of the assemblies.”

It said “Most of the MMDCEs are either operating from homes or in secluded places making citizens’ interactions with local authorities challenging, if not impossible. At the same time, they have lost their voice to speak against the current ills because most of them are seeking reappointment from the President.”

The statement noted, “We express our dissatisfaction in the government’s failure to release the fourth quarter of 2020 District Assemblies’ Common Fund (DACF) to MMDAs across the country to better serve citizens and keep work of the assemblies uninterrupted.”

It demanded that “Citizens including the media should develop the needed interest in the current state of the assemblies and demand for the right things to be done.”

It also demanded that “The fourth quarter of 2020 DACF must be released without any further delays and efforts made to release the first, second and third quarters of this year’s DACF to all assemblies.”