Thursday, 29th May, 2025
Hon Eric Nana Agyemang-Prempeh
Ahafo Ano North
Mr Speaker, thank you.
Mr Speaker, I appreciate your kindness for giving me this opportunity to make this Statement on a matter that has been of concern to every Ghanaian; the election of Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs).
Mr Speaker, Ghana has since the promulgation of the 1992 Constitution practised a system that allows the appointment of MMDCEs as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution, Article 243 (1) which states:
“There shall be a District Chief Executive for every district who shall be appointed by the President with prior approval of not less than two-thirds majority of members of the Assembly present and voting at a meeting.”
Mr Speaker, this practice has over the years come with its challenges and impeded the smooth operationalisation of our various district assemblies. We are all witnesses to these challenges that have confronted our governance system over the years due to this practice. From the friction between MMDCEs and MPs to issues of where loyalty and accountability of appointees lie among others.
Mr Speaker, as a country, the winnertakes-all syndrome has been a phenomenon that has been spoken about widely by Ghanaian people. Mr Speaker, we are again witnesses to several lip-service attempts made by political authorities in the past to address the issue thereof. Unfortunately, all the attempts came to naught.
The sitting President, H.E. John Dramani Mahama, while seeking to be elected President in 2012, made a promise that: “I will ensure that the Constitutional Review Committee proposed constitutional amendments and passed to involve the people directly in the election of MMDCEs.” This is well articulated on page 93 of the 2012 NDC Manifesto. For four years while in office from 2013 to 2016, President Mahama made very little or no effort to see to the fulfilment of that promise.
Mr Speaker, the NPP on page numbered 141 of their 2017 manifesto also made a solemn pledge to oversee the direct election of MMDCEs to coincide with 2019 district-level elections. After strenuous efforts in seeing to the fulfillment of same, we all remember the disagreements that ensued, leading to the regrettable halt of a process the government has spent huge sums of Ghana cedis to undertake.
Mr Speaker, I would not want to recount the wasted effort of the thengovernment that sought to amend Article 243 through the introduction of the Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2018 to the 7th Parliament by the then Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Ms Gloria Akuffo, on the authority of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. The Bill had been laid, it had gone through the First Reading and had been referred to the Committee of Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. The Committee did all necessary consultations and deliberated extensively on the Bill and reported to the House.
The Chairman of the Committee at the time, Hon Ben Abdallah Banda, in presenting the Report of the Committee on 29th July, 2019, articulated the importance of amending Article 243. Key among them were that; one, it will create an opportunity for very competent persons to stand for election as MMDCEs. Two, it will reduce incidences of having unpopular candidates appointed as MMDCEs, leading to some misguided people possibly removing or chasing out MMDCEs after the President has nominated them under the system. Three, it will break the winnertakes-all syndrome in Ghana's politics. Four, it will fully democratise the government system. Five, it will promote local democracy by allowing local people to choose their leaders and six, it will minimise the perceived tension and acrimony between MMDCEs and Hon Members of Parliament.
Mr Speaker, we have all agreed in principle, that is both National Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patriotic Party (NPP), and this was indicated in the Report of the Constitutional Review Committee chaired by Professor Albert Kodzo Fiadjoe. What disagreed on till date is the approach as to whether political parties’ involvement must be made legal or elections without direct political involvement. What we have failed to avert our minds to is the already subtle involvement of the political parties, even in district-level elections.
Mr Speaker, the time has come again for us to revisit these very important discussions on the election of MMDCEs and to find a lasting solution to the matter. We cannot keep reviving our wounds every four years when Chief Executives are to be selected to man our various districts.
Let me use this opportunity to remind His Excellency John Dramani Mahama of his promise in the 2024 NDC Manifesto, on page 145, where he pledged to do these. I quote: 4. strengthen local level participation and political accountability through the election of MMDCEs on a non-partisan basis by amending Articles 243 and 246(2) of the 1992 Constitution.
Mr Speaker, the President, in his recent inauguration of the Prof Henry Kwasi Prempeh-led Constitutional Review Committee, was keen on this matter. We assure him of our utmost commitment, as an important, mighty “Minority”, to seeing through the amendment of the said Article to benefit our country. I believe that a non-partisan election of MMDCEs will be the way forward.
In conclusion, Mr Speaker, since today is my maiden Statement, I seek your indulgence to thank the good people of Anyinasuso, Betiako, Abosuaso, Subriso, Twabidi, Asuhyiae, Dwaaho, Manfo, and Akwasiase, and the entire Ahafo Ano North constituency, for giving me the opportunity to represent them, and I pledge to be their worthy ambassador.
Mr Speaker, I thank you for gracing me with this opportunity.
Hon Frank Afriyie
Afadjato South
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity.
Mr Speaker, permit me to pat the maker of the Statement on the back for raising an issue as important as the election of MMDCEs, not on a partisan basis, but on apolitical basis.
Mr Speaker, oftentimes, it is the case that all the political parties will unite during electioneering campaign time, but once power is won, and we get to the judicious allocation of resources, that is where you find a lot of troubling issues. At the local level, many of us work, and once you partake in the work, you must benefit from the spoils of power, but that is where the issue lies, and so it is very important that he is bringing forth a matter as important as this. And this is not just about NPP or NDC or any other party. It is quite applicable to all the political parties that have won power with the onset of the Fourth Republic from 1992.
Mr Speaker, the time has come for us—though the appointment of MMDCEs is a constitutional imperative, I think that the constitution itself is organic. The time has come for us to subject it to scrutiny, and to do the necessary changes that we have to do by electing our MMDCEs. Sometimes, the nomination process becomes so chaotic, as the maker of the Statement has said, because during the process of having assembly members to endorse the nominee we have forces for and forces against, and where negative and positive clash, of course there will be flow of current, and sometimes it can really be troubling.
Mr Speaker, at the local level, we have a lot of people. We must seek as channeling resources to them, and once you are not elected, you do not feel the burden to be accountable to the people on ground. As respected Members of Parliament, we know that we have gone to the electorate and they have given us their mandate, and so almost always we are guided by that and we know after every four years, we will go to them for renewal of our mandate, and so we are constantly accountable. When we have a Chief Executive so nominated, who is not popular, he feels extremely unaccountable to the people on ground.
That in itself can derail progress, and so the time has come for us to fasten the process of election of MMDCEs as almost all presidents in the past have committed. I believe strongly in the promises of John Dramani Mahama. He promises and delivers, and we are all adding our voice in unison to ensure that barring any unforeseen circumstances— this is a government that delivers, we will see to the election of MMDCEs in order to promote governance at the local level, and democratic accountability.
Thank you so much for the opportunity.
Hon Akwasi Gyamfi Onyina-Acheampong
Kwabre East
Mr Speaker, and let me commend the maker of the Statement for bringing such an important issue to the Floor.
Mr Speaker, MMDCEs play quite an important role in the daily politics of this nation because they oversee the disbursement and proper utilisation of a very important fund that goes into the district.
However, we have always seen that sometimes their appointments come with some sort of chaos when the elections are ongoing, most especially when the President’s choice is not what party people or what the community support. I would like to also add my voice to the call for the need for elections of MMDCES.
Mr Speaker, this will help us in the sense that the people themselves will elect people who they know are competent, people who they trust, and people who they know are well-placed, and who know the dynamics of each constituency, municipality or district. They know these people can help them achieve the developmental objectives and agenda of the district or community. And when this happens, it will be less prone to chaos and violence.
Mr Speaker, the conflicts in districts usually also arise when there is a seeming tension between the appointed officer and the Member of Parliament. Elections will also ensure that this tension is reduced to the barest minimum, because both people, the MP and the MMDCE, will have been elected by the community or constituents themselves. When that happens, partisanship will reduce because, for example, if the MMDCE in my constituency is elected, it will likely be the will of the people; it will not be because of the partisan position that the person is in. It will be because of the will of the people, and if the will of the people does not go in tandem with the will of the President, this is where the chaos comes in. If the people themselves elect their own MMDCE, then the resultant chaos—
Mr Speaker, this Statement has come in the proper light, and I think the Majority at this point have the numbers enough to effect the changes that we all wish to have.
I once again end here, commending the maker of the Statement on this very important issue.
Hon Fred Kwesi Agbenyo
Guan
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. Let me start off by commending the maker of the Statement.
Mr Speaker, I think that this Statement has come at a very good time. It is true that almost all the political parties have agreed that with where we have got to as a country, there will be a need for us to elect our MMDCEs in our various districts.
Mr Speaker, they have mentioned the tensions and the problems that are between MPs and the DCEs that we all go through in most of the districts. This is to the extent that the DCEs think that they are not elected by the people, and so they are not necessarily accountable to the people. And then, the MP who is elected by the people becomes the only person who carries the entire burden. In most cases, the DCEs even try to undermine the MP.
Mr Speaker, there is something that all of us, for whatever reason, gloss over when it comes to this election of MMDCEs. Mr Speaker, it almost becomes like the “cocoa season” for our assembly members. These are things that we normally do not want to talk about openly, but we know that things have happened—The things that sometimes some of these nominees have to go through before they even go through their voting exercise.
Mr Speaker, when it comes to the fore, they are arrested. When it does not come to fore, we pretend we do not know what is going on. People have to go and borrow money to go and pay, in some cases, to some of these people before they are elected. Now, when they take office, where will they get the money to pay back the money that they borrowed and the loans that they took to go through the exercise?
Mr Speaker, I want to really support the Statement that we need to review the law and make way for us to elect competitively, our MMDCEs, and when we do that, we will be able to get the right calibre of people to represent us at the various assemblies. I am happy to note that the Government has decided that at least 80 per cent of the District Assemblies Common Fund will go directly to the assemblies. We have to get people who have the competence, the skills and ability, and people who see themselves as being accountable to the people who they are governing to be in charge of the districts. Once they know that their power comes from the people, I am sure they will serve the people diligently.
Mr Speaker, we want to invite you to assist us to review the law so that subsequently, the President does not have to appoint these persons again, but we will elect them to serve all of us.
I thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity.
Hon Michael Kwasi Aidoo
Oforikrom
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement made by Hon Eric Nana Agyemang-Prempeh.
Mr Speaker, today in this country, our constituents believe that the MP is an agent for development, even though the local government system provides that the district assembly or the municipal chief executive is supposed to champion development in our constituencies.
This is so because, Mr Speaker, we do not elect our MMDCEs, and the people feel that the MP has the obligation to bring the needed development. I believe that if we all come together and champion this cause so that we elect our MMDCEs, then the MMDCEs will have that responsibility towards the people in championing development, and also be accountable to them. Today, we vote for assembly members, then we jump MMDCEs, come and vote for MPs, and then vote for the Presidency. I believe if we start to elect our municipal chief executives or DCEs, they will become more accountable and then enhance civic engagement within our constituencies.
Also, Mr Speaker, this will help them to prioritise the needs of their constituencies, because as it stands today, MMDCEs will come based on an appointment from the President, they will take office, and the key things that might be important or that their constituents would want, they, based on their priorities, will decide otherwise. I speak in support of the Statement that the time is ripe that we elect our municipal chief executives.
Thank you very much for this opportunity.
Hon Eric Afful
Amenfi West
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity and let me thank the maker of the Statement for a wonderful one.
Mr Speaker, I remember in the Seventh Parliament, this issue cropped up. The two Sides of the coin agreed that the MMDCEs will be elected through the Universal Adult Suffrage. Unfortunately, what mixed was the modalities as to how they will be elected.
Mr Speaker, I would like to add my voice to the call of the Hon Member, that if we are not able to elect the MMDCEs, we will continue to not be accountable and not be responsible for the citizenry within their communities.
Mr Speaker, I would like to dwell on finances a bit. The MMDCEs, who are not elected, through the Universal Adult Suffrage, control all the finances within the assembly. All the finances within the Assembly. The finances of the MP who has been elected through the Universal Adult Suffrage is controlled by the MMDCEs. 12.26 p.m. That continues to give a lot of problems within the various communities.
Mr Speaker, to be specific, let me say that 100 per cent of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) goes to the Assembly. Five per cent of it, which belongs to the Members of Parliament (MP), is still controlled by the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executive (MMDCE). What the MP can do is to only recommend or make a proposal to the MMDCEs that he or she wants to build a school here. That is all. Whether the MMDCE will agree or not depends on the powers of the MMDCE.
Mr Speaker, I think it is high time we change this structure. The District Development Facility (DDF) is controlled by the MMDCE. The royalties from the natural resources within the community is controlled by the MMDCE. The funds they collect within the vicinity, the Internally Generated Fund (IGF), is controlled by the MMDCE and, therefore, the MP is incapacitated financially. Where there is money, that is when they have the power.
So, I will add my voice to the call by the Hon Member for us to go back and ensure that the MMDCEs are elected, so that they will be more accountable and responsible to the people within their vicinity. Thank you so much,
Mr Speaker, for the opportunity.
Hon Frank Annoh-Dompreh
Nsawam/Adoagyiri
Mr Speaker, I think it will not be out of place if I commend you highly for your decision to admit this Statement. In the wake of the fact that yesterday, you had to defer it to today because of a matter that you had to deal with.
I want to commend you for holding on to the faith and ensuring that this Statement is delivered today. Let me proceed further to commend my good Friend, the Hon AgyemangPrempeh, who, I must say, had earlier spoken to me about this matter and the decision to present it in the form of a Statement.
Mr Speaker, I do not wish to repeat many of the contributions that earlier speakers have alluded to, but just to reference what Dr Afful said, let us not get it wrong. Nobody is drawing a coalition course between present MMDCEs and MPs. That is not the intent of the Statement. And in this time and age, people often draw hasty conclusions; we are not fighting MMDCEs. We think that since the 80s, we have practiced the decentralisation system to this time. The experts say that change is constant, and humans cannot remain and say that we will not change with the passage of time. It has become important.
Mr Speaker, I have engaged you personally on the same matter, and you have adverted our minds to the fear about the appointing authority losing its powers. We can take all these varying concerns in good strides and take a patriotic position as a country. For me, I have a few observations. The confirmation of MMDCEs, even though largely has been smooth, but there have been a number of violent prone areas and incidents all over the country. Just a simple exercise of going to vote on MMDCEs degenerates and creates security concerns.
That must be dealt with. I think one of the processes that can be used is the election of MMDCEs. It would also reduce the needless tension between MMDCEs and MPs. Our roles are defined. Significantly different roles. We play our roles as a legislative arm of government and they have their roles to play. Yet, we are almost at each other’s throats. And there are genuine fears that well, if we do it, Minority will control certain portions of the country and the country will be divided; it is neither here nor there.
That will reflect the will of the people. If it is the will of the people that a certain person should occupy the MMDCE position, we cannot change it. Why is it that MPs are elected? We are ex officio members of the Assembly. The MPs are elected. The Assembly members who go to confirm the nominees are also elected—I see my Colleague, the Hon Korsah, here.
I am sure Mr Speaker knows him very well. He should not worry; Mr Speaker will surely recognise him. So, the Assemblymen and MPs are elected. It happens that it is only the MMDCEs that a small section of people go and vote for.
Mr Speaker, I think it is high time we open up this matter and ensure that— Now, they have two-thirds. The last speaker said that His Excellency the President is fulfilling all his promises. Now, they have two-thirds, so they should go ahead and amend the Constitution and ensure that MMDCEs are elected. They should not wait for anybody. They do not even need the Minority to do it; go ahead and do it. They may not even need us because with two-thirds, they can do it.
Mr Speaker, on a more serious note, I want to plead that this matter should not just be subjected to normal lamentations, then we go home and sleep. Let us sustain the conversation for some time to come. To that end, I want to implore and plead for your wisdom for probably some consequential directives. The Committee on Local Government and Rural Development is a very active one. The Minister, we know, is a very experienced Member of Parliament. Mr Ahmed Ibrahim has been in Leadership for all this while; he is also passionate about this matter. Then we can follow through on this matter to its logical conclusion. As a nation, we need to depart from what is happening currently and help in fomenting our local governance structure.
Mr Speaker, having said this, I know you have gotten to Leadership, but I also want to plead that Hon Korsah is here; if it pleases you. He was the immediate past Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development. If we can hear from him as well.
I thank you, Mr Speaker.
Hon Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah
Techiman South
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, let me commend the maker of the Statement for bringing this matter to the fore.
Mr Speaker, I will be very brief in my remarks. I just want to put on record that if there is any policy or issue that has a meeting of minds from both Sides of the political divide, it is the issue of the election of MMDCEs.
Mr Speaker, we may recall that the past Government took up this policy and did various efforts to have pushed us to the election of MMDCEs. Although both parties agreed to the election, the point of departure was whether it should be on a partisan basis. Somehow, we need to take a decision and make a move. It is an issue that is long overdue, and its implementation would ensure that we move our local governance system a step forward in shaping it and making it better for our national governance programme.
Given that the current Government has overwhelming numbers to make this happen and is committed to it, at least, in the 2020 and 2024 manifestos, Mr Speaker, I believe that the way is very clear for our Friends in Government to make do with this policy, and we, on this Side of the divide, are ever ready to give Government every support, and we count on them. I believe that this conversation should trigger some roadmap that we can immediately put in place and ensure that we make our governance at the local level better by adopting this move.
Mr Speaker, I thank you very much for the opportunity.
Hon Richard Acheampong
Bia East
Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity to add my voice to the call by the Hon Colleague for Members for the country to take a decision to elect our MMDCEs.
Mr Speaker, we can say that, in principle, all political parties agree that we should elect our MMDCEs, but when one is in opposition, the person feels it better than in government. There is always a turf war between the Members of Parliament (MPs) and the MMDCEs. Right now, we thank God that the Constitutional Review Committee is working, so let us come together, put up the proposal, what we want them to do, so that it incorporates our views, and that, by the end of the day, Ghanaians will take a decision, so we will see the pathway. Because we have raised these issues over and over, but there is no resolution to this matter.
Mr Speaker, other people are saying the President should nominate three people, present them to the Public Service Commission, vet them, and present them for elections, and the President should retain the power to sack those people. Because if he is appointing, he must have the power to also sack them. But another school of thought is also saying if we present the candidates for the people to elect them, if we want to sack the person, we should give them the power to put in a petition, so that, based on their findings, that person is sacked.
These are the controversies around all these things. So, let us try to fashion out a modality which will work for all of us. If one is an MP and he or she is not in good terms with the District Chief Executive (DCE), giving a mere instruction will never solve any problem because the DCE himself or herself is interested to unseat the MP. So, the DCE will use the resources that goes to him or her to undermine the work of the MP.
Let us have a pathway; how do we want to achieve it? Should it be free for all, so everybody can pick a form, contest elections, win, and become the DCE? But people are also saying that the person is representing the central Government or the President at the local level, so if the person is not aligned with the visions and ambitions of the President, the DCE will sabotage the work of the President of the day. So, at the end of the day, as we are trying to do this time around, we are sending about 80 per cent of the resources to the local assemblies for development, and this is a DCE elected by the people who comes from a different political party and refuses to implement the policies and programmes of the Government of the day.
How can the Government achieve its set goals and objectives? So, these are some of the areas we need to explore and develop it well. So, that, at the end of the day, if the person is elected, there may be some monitoring system put in place to check whoever is appointed or elected.
Mr Speaker, when it comes to security, the person is in charge of the District Security Council (DISEC). The President will be visiting the constituencies or the district; who would provide security for the President if the person is not in the same government with the Government of the day? So, these are some of the things—
Yes, National Security is there, but you know what people can also do Mr Speaker, for example, if the President come to Bia East, the residence of the DCE will accommodate the President, and if this DCE belongs to Akua Donkor Party—I am talking about a situation where you do not have any other means than to host the President; even drinking water becomes a challenge. No, we are dealing with human beings. I am not shutting the door, but let us think around all these things, so we can fashion up a roadmap as to how to proceed; either we want free for all, or the President will appoint three people, present them to—
Mr Speaker, I think the committee is working; we can make an input, so that, at the end of the day, there will be sanity; we will get value for money, and people will be responsible because they have been voted for. If they do not discharge their duties well, they know that people can vote against them the next day, just like Members of Parliament. Every four years we subject ourselves to the people for re-election. So, if we do not conduct ourselves well, by the end of the day, they will punish you through the ballot box.
Mr Speaker, I think it is a good call, but let us see how we navigate this path, so that we will get to know that people are given resources to work; they are responsible, and we can also go to sleep that there is no mischief. Nobody is going to undermine the work of the Government of the day. It is not by National Democratic Congress (NDC) or New Patriotic Party (NPP). After 20 or 30 years, NPP will come to power. The same thing will come to play—So, let us try to see how we navigate this, so we will stop the talking and move to real action. We have been lamenting over and over. Let us come together and present a paper to the Commission, so that they will incorporate it and then the implementation will come to all of us.
I thank you very much for the opportunity.
AskParly