You Are Not Kingmakers, Assembly Members Told

Madam Emelia Arthur, Deputy Western Regional Minister, on Wednesday said assembly members were not kingmakers in their various electoral areas and should therefore stay away from chieftaincy affairs.�Avoid the temptation to arrogate to yourself the power to install a chief or side with a faction in any chieftaincy dispute in your electoral area�, she said. Madam Arthur, who said this at an orientation workshop for both old and new assembly members in the Mpohor Wassa East District Assembly, noted that such temptation could likely create troubles in their roles as assembly members. She said their appointment did not make them superior saying, �in your daily activities, you will encounter traditional rulers, civil society organizations, the youth and all shades of groups of individuals and you are expected to be courteous�. Madam Arthur also called for the cooperation with all stakeholders for the development of their electoral areas. The orientation according to Mr Anthony Bassaw, District Chief Executive of the area, is to equip assembly members with the rudiments of local government process as well as building their capacity for effective decentralization. She urged them to take the training seriously and also apply the tenets in their daily activities in order to raise the level of development in the District.