No DCEs, no Common Fund - says Minister

Funsi (UW), Sept. 17, GNA- All district Assemblies that failed to confirm their District Chief Executives would not receive their share of District Assembly Common Fund until new persons were nominated and confirmed, Mr. Charles Bintim Minister of Local Government and Rural Development has said.

He said DCEs were chairmen of Executive Committees and chairmen of tender Committees, which others could not handle in their absence and it was more prudent to allow the money to remain at the ministerial level than to be released into an account that they could not access. Mr. Bintim announced this at Funsi in the newly created Wa East District capital when he addressed workers of the decentralized Departments as part of his three-day official tour of the Upper West Region.

He said his Ministry would soon advertise the positions of DCEs in the vacant District Assemblies and such district assemblies could only get substantive DCEs by December.

"You see, it will take time to advertise, interview, screen and subsequently nominate suitable candidates. It will therefore, take a lot of time and cannot be now" he explained.

The minister was particularly not happy that all the newly created District Assemblies had problems with their confirmation and advised them to close their ranks and forge ahead for the development of their districts.

He urged them to eschew rancour, bitterness and conflicts as such tendencies undermined peace, unity and development.

All the three newly created districts, apart from Wa West DCE, that survived by mathematical precision, failed to confirm the nominees, sending the ministry back to the drawing board to nominate others for the positions.

Mr. Hikah Benson Deputy Upper West Regional Minister urged the workers not to engage themselves in political, chieftaincy and other litigations that could impede development in the area. "As a new district, your focus should be on development and not engage in fruitless struggles that will leave you impoverished than before." The Minister also visited Tumu, the Sissala East district and Gwollu, Sissala West district capitals respectively where he addressed workers and paid courtesy calls on chiefs and people of the traditional areas.