CDD-Ghana begins two-day multi-stakeholder conference on local government reforms
The Center for Democratic Development (CDD) and the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) has set aside two valuable days, August 31 to September 1 for deliberations on local government reforms.
The conference is themed, "forging consensus towards local government reforms in Ghana."
The multi-stakeholder conference, which began today, Wednesday, August 31, at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra, will particularly welcome varied ideas on whether the proposed amendment to Article 55 [3] still holds value in the eyes of the public.
The said amendment, if done, will see the introduction of multi-party competition in local government elections, while an amendment to Article 243(1) of Ghana’s constitution would have allowed for the election of Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs).
Delivering the keynote address, Prof. H.K Prempeh, the Executive Director of CDD-Ghana, cited President Akufo-Addo’s effort in seeking to achieve universal participation through his proposed referendum in 2019, which was finally aborted after being opposed by some Civil Society Organisations.
He noted that "as the theme suggests, this conference is creating the avenue for some consensus to be reached on key issues that should constitute the agenda for initiating local government reforms in the country."
Prof. Prempeh adds, "This event follows a series of engagements that were initiated in 2021 as part of attempts to bring back to the fore the agenda of local government reforms that were truncated by President Nana Akufo-Addo over what was described as a lack of national consensus in the lead up to the referendum on December 17, 2019."
Following the welcome address, the Executive Director for IDEG, Dr. Emmanuel Akwetey, mounted the stage and call the need for the adoption of decentralized local government, especially to carefully select either a partisan or non-partisan means of voting MMDCEs.
On his part, the Deputy Minister for Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development, Hon. O.B Amoah, delivering the keynote address, assured the public that President Akufo-Addo, as he was in 2019, is still ready to push for local government reforms depending on the kind of support given to him by Ghanaians.
"We can draw lessons from the bold step the government took between 2018 and 2019 to take away the power of the President to appoint District Chief Executives and to allow the election of such Chief Executives through the multi-party democratic system.
"Regrettably, when it appeared that major stakeholders who had initially endorsed the new phase of this very critical aspect of political decentralization called for the rejection of the Bill, the President asked for the process to be aborted with the withdrawal of the Bill for the referendum," he said.
Several significant submissions were registered from various participants, some of whom believe that though the reform will take time to be effective, it must be implemented earlier so that Ghanaians will be able to adapt to this new class of governance.
Notably, the Deputy Minority Chief Whip, Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim suggested that as much as the reforms are needed to encourage inclusive governance, there is a need to prolong the tenure of elected officials to at least 5 or 7 years to ensure that electoral expenditures are reduced and the officials are given maximum tenure to deliver on expectations.
Giving an overview on matters the two-day conference seeks to discuss, the Director of Advocacy and Policy Engagement at CDD-Ghana, Dr. Kojo Asante, reechoed the need for the adoption of the local government reforms, implying that most Ghanaians have lost trust in the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs).
“Most Ghanaians (73%) are largely dissatisfied with how MMDAs have dealt with development challenges in their communities over the past 5 years. In general, Ghanaians rated MMDA's performance in service delivery and revenue mobilization over the past 5 years negatively as "very or fairly badly."
"An overwhelming majority of Ghanaians (9 in 10 respondents) say MMDAs lack financial accountability and efficiency in the usage of the district assembly common fund (and internally generated revenue (IGR); between 7 in 10 of Ghanaians believe MMDAs have for the past 5 years performed "very or fairly badly" in promoting participatory governance," he stated.
Gracing the occasion was Nene Sakitey, the paramount chief of the Manya-Krobo Traditional Area.
Others include the Deputy Minister for Local Government Decentralization and Rural Development, Hon. O.B Amoah; the Deputy Minority Chief Whip, Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim; the Ahafo Ano North Member of Parliament (MP), Hon. Suleman Adamu Sanid; other government officials; representatives from other civil society organizations (CSOs) and personnel from the media.
The program was made possible with the help of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).