Dr. Alhaji Mahamadu Bawumia, the Vice President, has underscored the need for Members of Parliament (MPs) and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to put a stop to the occasional rumbling and tensions that existed between them.
He said the perennial conflicts between MPs and MMDCEs had been the bane of the country’s decentralization efforts and this must give way to cooperation at all times.
Dr Bawumia made the call at the opening of a governance and leadership workshop organized for MPs and MMDCE’s drawn from the Western, Brong-Ahafo and Ashanti Regions in Kumasi.
It was organized by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs under the theme “enhancing leadership for good governance”.
The Vice President said as key actors in local governance and development, MPs and MMDCEs must rather, work together as a team for the growth and development of their communities.
“Disunity negatively affects the socio-economic development of a country, so we aspire that all our efforts must be put together to improve the well-being of every Ghanaian,” he stated.
The Vice President warned that the commitment of ensuring a Ghana Beyond Aid, would prove futile if the key stakeholders at the grassroots levels failed to partner to harness all available resources efficiently.
“Many of the government’s flagship programmes would be realized by the central role of the MPs and MMDCE’s,” he indicated, assuring that the administrative and political leadership should be on top of their game.
Dr. Bawumia reiterated that the one district, one factory, one village, one dam and all other development authorities were on board at various stages of implementation.
Touching on the newly created municipal and district assemblies, he said, the government was poised to bringing governance to the doorsteps of the people.
It was also the government’s plan to increase the resource envelopes that were allotted to the districts and local levels, adding that the equivalent of $1million pledged for each constituency, would be available.
Source: GNA
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MR. VICE PRESIDENT THE PROBLEM OF THE TENSION BETWEEN MPS AND MMDCES CAN BE RESOLVED BY PRAGMATIC POLICIES AND NOT AN APPEAL AND SWEET TALKS. JUST LIKE WE DON'T STOP CRIMES THROUGH APPEALS BUT THROUGH STRATEGY AND POLICIES, SO WE NEED TO RESOLVE SUCH MATTERS BY GOVERNMENT POLICIES. THE GOVERNMENT MUST THEREFORE TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION TO IMPLEMENT POLICIES THAT WILL RENDER SUCH TENSIONS NEEDLESS. FIRST, THERE MUST BE IMMEDIATE, AND NOT DELAYED, ELECTIONS OF MMDCES TO ENSURE THE SECURITY OF THAT OFFICE. MANY MMDCES FEEL INSECURE OF THAT OFFICE AS THEY ARE APPOINTED AND DISAPPOINT BY THE PRESIDENT THROUGH THE INFLUENCE OF SOME PARTY LEADERS AND CHIEFS. THEIR FATE UNLIKE MPS ARE INSECURE. EVENTUALLY, SOME DEVELOP INTEREST. THIS MIGHT LEAD TO SOME TO SABOTAGE THE THE MPS IN THEIR DISTRICTS SO THAT THEY CAN USURP THEIR OFFICE. SECONDLY, MP COMMON FUND SHOULD BE SCRAPPED OUT. HOW MANY TIMES DO WE NOT HEAR MPS THEMSELVES SAYING THEY ARE NOT DEVELOPING OFFICERS. IF MPS MAKE SUCH CLAIMS WHY DO WE FORCE ON THEM WITH PROJECTS. CRITICAL LOOK AT MPS PROJECTS SHOW THAT MOST OF THE PROJECTS ARE NOT IN THE INTEREST OF THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY BUT JUST TO PURSUE THEIR POLITICAL CAREER. THEY FAIL TO GIVE PROPER ACCOUNTS TO THE ASSEMBLY AND THE PROJECTS OF MPS ARE MADE TO APPEAR LIKE THEIR OWN. THIS LEAD TO CONFLICT WITH THE ASSEMBLES. THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNANCE WE HAVE TODAY INTERMINGLE THE WORK OF MMDCCES AND PMS CREATING THIS UNNECESSARY TENSIONS WE HAVE IN THE COUNTRY. MANY MPS AND MMDCES WHO COME FROM THE SAME CONSTITUENCIES AND THE SAME PARTIES DO NOT WISH EACH OTHER SUCCESS BUT FAILURE. SCRAP THE BAD SYSTEM NOW AND STOP THE SWEET TALKS, AND THE CHANGE WILL DO THE TRICK.