Effia kwesimintsim: Stakeholders from academia, faith-based organizations, district assemblies, traditional authorities, and the media have reaffirmed the urgent need for the election of Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to ensure secured tenure and peace of mind to promote development in the assemblies. They emphasized that such elections should be conducted on a non-partisan basis, allowing competent Ghanaians interested in local governance to contest without political party affiliations.
According to Ghana News Agency, stakeholders also urged for increased participation of women in political spaces to drive inclusive and accelerated development at the local level. There was a call for chiefs and queenmothers within assembly jurisdictions to be actively involved in assembly deliberations. Representatives of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) expressed concern that nominations to the assemblies often did not come from their recognized associations but were instead given to affiliates who did not report back to them.
These concerns were raised at a stakeholders' workshop on 'Resetting Ghana's Local Governance System for Enhanced Effectiveness', organized by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) at the Effia Kwesimintsim Municipal Assembly (EKMA) in the Western Region. Mr. Mark Ackon, a teacher, noted that the position of MMDCEs was losing value as meritocracy gave way to political rewards, highlighting the need for elections to secure competent human resources capable of delivering grassroots development.
Mr. Joseph Oti Frimpong, Lead for the Elections, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme at CDD-Ghana, stated that research since 2008 consistently emphasized the need for non-partisan election of MMDCEs to curb the 'winner-takes-all' syndrome in Ghana's politics. He highlighted that from 2021 to 2024, about 76 percent of Ghanaians engaged through CDD's studies supported the election of MMDCEs.
Mr. Jacob Tetteh Ahum, Assistant Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist at CDD-Ghana, mentioned that stakeholders in 12 regions were involved in research processes reflecting the will of the majority of Ghanaians. He noted that the findings aligned with recommendations of the Constitutional Review Commission and urged the government to activate the will of the people. Mr. Ahum called on stakeholders to sustain advocacy for reforms that would promote accountable, people-centered, and effective local governance systems, rather than politically inclined assemblies that often resulted in abandoned projects, poor service delivery, and disputes over control of public infrastructure.