Listen To The Niimei, Naamei!

Last Thursday, some traditional rulers in Ga expressed dissatisfaction over the performance of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and therefore demanded that he be sacked by the President.

Chiefs, the custodians of our heritage whose powers have largely been diminished with the inception of colonial rule and lately self-government, are nonetheless important partners in national development whose cooperation should not be ignored.

It would appear however that consulting them over critical issues within their traditional areas of jurisdiction rarely occurs when crucial decisions are being taken by the President's representative in especially Accra.

In Ga or the nation's capital, there is no doubt that there is bad blood between the CEO and the chiefs of the various traditional areas it consists of, a situation which calls for the attention of the President.

We are hard-pushed for a good reason why the AMA boss for instance refused to come out of his office to meet a delegation of chiefs which called on him as alleged by Nii Amarkai, one of the chiefs.

Brooding over their concerns, we are left with no option but to conclude that the CEO has had his way for far too long and must necessarily be checked in the interest of the progress of the nation's capital.

His handling and remarks following the market fires that hit Accra recently left much to be desired.

The calls of the chiefs, without doubt, were made to coincide with the appointment of officials of the assemblies by the President.

It would therefore be appropriate for the President at this time to consider all the issues raised with a view to taking the best decision that would benefit the whole of Accra and the country as a whole.

Some of the issues raised by the chiefs and concerned indigenes of Accra represent part of the hydra-headed integrity challenge in the country today.

The underhandedness which features in public life today has not spared the AMA, almost faded subject in the country.

It is a very serious allegation when a public officer varies contracts without recourse to laid-down procedures because the action immediately raises questions about integrity, which should be tackled immediately. This is what the chiefs have levelled against the AMA boss.

Information reaching us suggests that this has gone on for a while now but it would seem that being a national malaise and one which has failed to attract the attention of government this one too would follow the same fate. We hope that we are wrong.

Being verifiable allegations, we support the call that government probes it rather than confining it under the carpet because doing so would be at the peril of our social fabric which is already seriously under the threat of massive public sector corruption and graft.

It goes without questioning that a public officer who can vary contracts at will, can mishandle funds without looking over their shoulders. That is the situation at the AMA and many others across the nation.