Improve Remuneration Of Assembly Members

An ex-member of the Ho Municipal Assembly, Mr Kojo Krakani, has called for a radical review of the remuneration of assembly members in order to motivate them to deliver effectively as the real representatives of the people.

Mr Krakani said because the work of the assembly member was regarded as mere voluntary and part time, it had partly been the cause of a low output from the assembly members in achieving the goals of local governance.

Giving his personal experience as the assembly member for the Matse-Lume Electoral Area from 2000 to 2006, Mr Krakani said he was voted to the assembly as a part-time member, and that his commitment was divided between his full-time work as a civil servant and an assembly member.

According to him, the assembly job was to be done rather on a full-time basis, and as the representative of the people, it was pertinent to live 24 hours in the electoral area to enable him sell the needs and aspirations of the people to be able to articulate them effectively.

Mr Krakani also contended that as a full-time work, assembly members should be placed on salaries and that the notion that it was voluntary was no more tenable.

He further contended that assembly members should receive remuneration as Members of Parliament (MPs) do, because, to him, they faced similar responsibilities like the MPs. Mr Krakani, therefore, urged communities to develop resources in building their own non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in order to reduce dependency on Ghanaian NGOs, majority of which depended on external resources.

Story By Tim Dzamboe