A Local Governance Analyst, George Kyei Baffour has described government’s intended inauguration of the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) as illegal.
Deputy Local Government Minister, Emmanuel Agyekum, told Citi News in an interview that all is set for the inauguration of the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) on Tuesday, October 6.
The inauguration to be done by President Mahama is to allow the various MMDAs to commence full operations.
There has been pressure on government to inaugurate the assemblies to meet the deadline for the submission of composite budgets.
Confirming the inauguration to Citi News, Mr. Agyekum also dismissed claims that the government has not made any provision to facilitate the inauguration’ hence the delays.
But in an interview with Citi News, Mr. George Kyei Baffour explained that the intended inauguration is without government’s appointments to the assemblies, which constitute 30% of the MMDAs composition.
He thus wondered why government would go ahead with the inauguration without the appointees.
“It will be illegal for an inauguration of assembly to be done especially when elections have been conducted and the new assemblies are supposed to be put together to function and government appointees are not ready…That will be an illegality because the Constitution in Article 242 defines membership of a corporate assembly and that includes 30% of government appointees so that will be an illegality.
“Apart from that, looking at the standing orders of the house, once the assembly is inaugurated, they are supposed to elect a presiding member and elected members alone cannot elect a presiding member because that will not be the full complement of the assembly. Government or the President has all the time at its disposal so why did they wait for six solid months and the appointees are not ready…so that’s a big challenge to him” he noted.
With the issues of legalities now coming to the fore, it is unclear whether government will go ahead with the inauguration.
Meanwhile three districts including Nkoranza North and South in the Brong Ahafo region and another in the Eastern Region will not be inaugurated.
The Deputy Local Government Minister, Emmanuel Agyekum explained that this is as a result of the delay in the elections held on September 1 this year.
–
By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana