Power, Expectations, Realities And Managing Our Disappointments

An overwhelming majority of people think of the possession of power as ‘sweet’. The sweetness of this power comes in diverse forms, shades and taste. I respect every opinion including the opinions of those who think that the possession of power is all about “sweetness” even though I disagree with it. Power, just like money, cannot be said to be the panacea to all problems. Once your power increases, so too does your problems.

I can bet that there is no sweetness in the powers of the Local Government Minister. It is all about work, work and work. Diligent and workaholic as Hon. Hajia Alima is, she hardly has time for other important issues except those dealing with her ministry. Her powers as a minister has taken away the time she used to spend with her grandchildren and attend to other personal issues. She has now become a state property and not even the loyal constituents of Nalerigu-Gambaga can claim sole ownership of her. She prioritizes national issues over personal issues now. It is in this regard that I think it is erroneous for us to always think of power as ‘sweet’. Power can be stressful as well. It is.

As the much awaited nomination of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (

MMDCEs) was put to rest on Wednesday through the sector minister, expectations of many people were met whilst that of a lot others were shattered. Prior to the announcement, almost everyone legitimately had expectations. Some people were so much engrossed in their expectations that they lost sight of the fact that only one person could be appointed as DCE at a time; and that since in all cases more than one person were contesting, there was a greater possibility of their expectations not being met.

The president through the minister of Local Government and Rural Development had to take a lot of factors into consideration before arriving at a decision as to who should get the nod to become a DCE or not. Left unto me, I will say that the most difficult task of a Ghanaian president is the appointment of MMDCEs and the most burdensome ministry being that of the Local Government ministry. This is because the president through the minister has to take cognizance of traditional interest, political interest, religious, gender, geographical and ethnic interests among others and marry them with his vision and the competences of the aspirants involved before arriving at a nominee. From the above, it cannot be gainsaid that one has to be a magician in the caliber of ‘Houdini’ or the fictional Merlin to be able to reconcile these varied and sometimes diametrically opposed interests without irking some people.

The realities had to be dealt with however uncomfortable it will be to some people. Much as the President acting through the minister would love to have granted the wishes of all the aspirants and other stakeholders, that looked more utopian than could be achieved in reality. The absolute trust a leader enjoys from his or her followers is a necessary condition for success. Knowing very well that the New Patriotic Party (N.P.P) thrives on loyalty and obedience to the rule of law, and coming from undulated political fortunes, the president took courage from his own political history and set about nominating his representatives at the various district assemblies without fear, favour or ill-will. One’s failure in life to achieve a set target should never weigh him or her down but rather strengthen him or her to re-strategise and launch a better attempt. The DCEs were selected after a very comprehensive consultation with key stakeholders and investigations into the backgrounds of the aspirants. Someway, somehow, a decision had to be made as to who gets what, when and how. Definitely, not all the aspirants could get their wishes fulfilled. Some, with time and comportment will be elevated to statuses similar to, or above DCEs. Others too with luck on their side might still be appointed DCEs as time goes on. It is possible, and indeed it is the fact that perusing through the curriculum vitae that were presented by the DCE aspirants, the president and his ministers came to realized that the qualifications and experiences of some aspirants will be better suited in other critical areas of his government to accelerate his vision and developmental agenda than in being appointed as DCEs.

As a people, we must be willing to make sacrifices in order to propel our development. These sacrifices could be tough but necessary decisions we must make, or accept when made on our behalf by legitimate institutions of state. The president must be supported in his quest to bring development to our doorsteps through the district assemblies led by the DCEs. As human beings, the president or his representative acting on his behalf can make mistakes. However, as two wrongs never made a right, we must adopt legitimate and constitutional processes to express our disagreement with the president and not resort to violence, threats, name-calling etc. There is a ventilation avenue constitutionally provided. It is our prerogative to exercise it bearing in mind the greater good of our various districts and not just our parochial interests. The President and the sector minister will never take a decision for any district without weighing the pros and cons of that decision. That applies to the appointment of the DCEs. The greater good of the districts concern was paramount in arriving at who became their chief executives.

The four Metropolitan Assemblies, i.e. Accra, Kumasi, Tamale and Sekondi-Takoradi have shown the way already by earlier on overwhelmingly and in some cases unanimously approving the President’s nominee to hasten up development and implement policies to ameliorate the sufferings of their people. It is the wish of the President and the Honorable Hajia Alima Mahama that the remaining 212 districts will follow suit and endorse the President’s nominees to their assemblies. The President has been reiterating the fact that there is no time for his government to waste and therefore all of us must be in similar hastes to see the full complement of his government for us to begin or continue enjoying the benefits of his government through the district assemblies and the District Chief Executives.

Finally, Hon.Hajia Alima Mahama, the minister of Local Government and Rural Development and her deputies will like to express their gratitude to all those who filed for consideration to be considered as DCEs of their various assemblies. Their cooperation has made the process one of the smoothest and transparent so far in the Fourth Republic. The ministry will continue to engage not only them, but also the entire citizenry in order to ensure that the ministry delivers on its mandate creditably.

The minister will like to equally appeal to the nominees to as a matter of necessity begin to mend fences with their co-aspirants, interests groups and all other stakeholders in order to make governance at the local level all-embracing and devoid of discrimination. Similarly, all unsuccessful aspirants should assist the nominees with not only ideas, but first of all help, to ascertain the number of votes they need to garner in order to cross the constitutional hurdle. There must be “collaboration after competition” so that there will be no winners and losers.

GHANA HAS WON
Author: Suayam Simon
The writer is the Personal Assistant to the Minister, and also a Senior Policy Analyst at the Inter Ministerial Coordinating Committee (IMCC) on Decentralisation.