17 MALES, NO FEMALES MADE DCEs IN NORTH Field day for male machismo and death of 40 % females pledge

The Chronicle noticed one spectacular scene at the swearing in of district Chief Executives in the Northern region, as no woman among the assembly of executives to be sworn in as district chief executives showed up at the regional capital. It was almost an embarrassment as no woman was adjudged competent enough for the Upper West, Upper East and Northern region to be appointed as DCE.

It was an all male affair as the region most prone to male machismo trotted out as many as 17 men to be sworn in to office as DCEs, singularly defeating President Mills' declared promise to appoint 40% women at the district levels. There was not a single woman representing the region as Chief Executive, out of the 17 nominees who were paraded for the swearing-in ceremony in Tamale.

However, the Northern Regional Organiser of the 31st December Women's Movement, Madam Olivia Hawa Yahaya, in an interview with The Chronicle expressed disappointment about the President's inability to nominate more women into the district assemblies to fight for women's rights. She was optimistic that the President would create other avenues for the women to contribute their quota to the development of the economy.

On the other hand, the various District, Municipal and Metropolitan Chief Executives of the Northern Region are now obviously faced with enormous tasks to transform the underdeveloped region to meet the aspiration of the government in bridging the development imbalance between the area and the southern part of Ghana.

The Northern Regional Minister, Stephen Sumani Nayina, used the occasion to caution that he would not hesitate to recommend the immediate removal of any District, Municipal or Metropolitan Chief Executive who would engage any Member of Parliament (MP) because of their interest to become MPs.

He advised that any DCE who wants to contest for parliamentary position should first resign from office before announcing his intentions. This protracted power struggle between some DCEs and their MPs, especially those from the opposition parties, according to the Minister, was invariably affecting the development opportunities of the various districts.

Mr. Nayina made these remarks at the official swearing-in ceremony of the seventeen (17) out of the twenty (20) District, Municipal and Metropolitan Chief Executives (DMMCEs) who were nominated by President John Evans Atta Mills in the Northern Region.

Meanwhile, several hundreds of people, including traditional and religious leaders, departmental heads, political party representatives and supporters as well as youth groups from the various districts of the region trooped to the forecourt of the Northern Regional Coordinating Council to witness the colourful and historical event.

However, three of the districts, Savelugu-Nanton, Gushegu and Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo did not get representatives since there were some controversies before and during their confirmation exercises. The Northern Regional Minister, Stephen Sumani Nayina who swore the DCEs into office also handed to them their Instrument of Authority signed by President John Evans Atta Mills.

The Minister cautioned them to work diligently and closely with the people, especially the traditional authorities. Mr. Nayina said whatever the DCEs would do wrong would have a bearing on the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party and its fortunes in the future. The Minister implored them to display transparency and accountability in their administration and to guard against all forms of corrupt practices at the assembly level.

Mr. Nayina advised the DCEs to keep abreast with the Public Procurement Act (Act 663), the Financial Administration Act (Act 654) and Internal Audit Agency Act (Act 658), as well as study the various sections and provisions designed to enhance probity and accountability. He reminded them to respond swiftly to the needs and aspirations of the people, through whose mandate they had obtained their positions.

When The Chronicle got in touch with some of the DCEs as to whether they are indeed ready for the big tasks ahead of them, almost all of them responded in the affirmative.

Even though most of them look quite young, they believed strongly that they could succeed without any hitches, if the necessary support was offered to them by the various chiefs and groups in their respective districts.

The DCEs for Sawla-Tuna-Kalba, Mr. Alhassan Shakuoru Bukari; Central Gonja, Sualisu Be-Awuribe; Karaga, Alhaji Abdulai Mahamadu Sandow and Adam Mutawakilu of West Gonja Districts told The Chronicle that they would not disappoint the people and the President who nominated them. They mentioned the promotion of education, healthcare delivery, agricultural business, and provision of rural electrification, water and road networks as some of their topmost priorities.