Kwahu West Municipal Assemble fails to elect PM

Nkawkaw, Oct. 7, GNA - The Kwahu West District Assembly failed to elect a Presiding Member during the inauguration of the Assembly, after two rounds of voting by the members at Nkawkaw.

Each of the two contestants, Mr Dickson Akyirem, former Presiding Member (PM), and Nana Oboadum the second , a government appointee, obtained 19 votes, after two rounds of voting which fell short of the two-thirds majority required .

All the 38 elected and appointed Assembly Members were sworn into office by the Nkakaw High Court Judge, Mr Justice Nathaniel Osam.

In his inaugural address, the Director-General in-charge of Administration at the Ministry of Finance, Mr Azu Sam Aziakor, noted that the election and appointment of Assembly Members was due to the confidence reposed in them by the people.

He, therefore, urged them to live up to their responsibilities during their four-year term.

He urged them to serve the people in their various electoral areas and communities to improve their general well being.

Mr Aziakor said the unique roles Assembly Members played in exercising their functions, especially at the grassroots, had helped promote good governance , democracy and peace in the country.

He said in accepting the privilege and responsibility to serve as Members of the Assembly , they had become part of the local government system, as they had become legislators , planners, developmental economists and managers of human and natural resources of the district.

The Director-General in-charge of Administration noted that after 27 years of experimenting the decentralized system, the government had done a lot to strengthen the process of decentralization by providing financial support and many interventions.

He said with the current support of government, the Assembly needed to generate the needed revenue, not only for recurrent expenditure, but also for funding development projects since many of the Assemblies had the potential to generate revenue for those purposes.

The Municipal Chief Executive, Dr Alex Somuah
Obeng, said the Assembly members played significant roles in the democratic process of the country, and urged them to remain non-partisan.

This, he said, would enable them to mobilize the people in their electoral areas to undertake meaningful development projects to improve their living standards.

GNA