BOLD DECISION BY PRESIDENT (JAN 23)

THE decision by President J.E.A. Mills to allow metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs) to remain in office until further notice sends the right signals to all Ghanaians that the new government is prepared to tap talents from all spheres of national endeavour to attain the objective of involving everybody in the governance process.
Indeed, the laws of the land do not oblige a new President to fire MMDCEs in the event of a change in political administration.
Article 243 Clause (1) on Decentralisation states, “There shall be a District Chief Executive for every district who shall be appointed by the President with the prior approval of not less than two-thirds majority of members of the assembly present and voting at the meeting.”
The same Constitution prescribes the circumstances under which the office of DCE shall become vacant. It states that the office of the DCE shall become vacant if (a) a vote of no confidence, supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds of all the members of the district assembly, is passed against him; or (b) he is removed from office by the President; or (c) he resigns or dies.
The Constitution also debars political parties from sponsoring or campaigning for candidates seeking election to district assemblies or any local government unit. Ghana’s Constitution also establishes that the district assemblies shall be non-partisan.
Since 1992, various governments have made attempts to make the district assemblies responsible for effective governance at the grass root level. However, our attempts to insulate these local units of governance from partisan influence are yet to bear fruits.
Indeed, the issue of electing DCEs has engaged our attention for some time now in order to make political heads of the districts accountable to the people. Although we are yet to find a common ground on the matter, the bold decision by President Mills to allow MMDCEs to continue in office is a recognition of the fact that they can function effectively even in the event of a change of government, provided these appointees will continue to be loyal to the President and the State.
The Daily Graphic is not oblivious of the internal opposition that greeted the directive by the President to allow MMDCEs to stay in office, albeit temporarily. But, at least, it is also a good sign that a change of government does not necessarily mean changing all appointees immediately.
This goodwill gesture goes a long way to reinforce President Mills’s pledge on his inauguration that he will rely on the rich human resource base of the country to implement his contract with the people and be a father to all Ghanaians.
The Daily Graphic applauds President Mills for his decision to allow “continuity in a changing environment” so that the grass root people can be part of the decision-making process. This is also in tune with the manifesto of the NDC that if given the mandate to govern, it will spearhead a change that will bring about prosperity for all.
Some have argued that the decision to end the tenure of government appointees negates the gesture to retain MMDCEs, but the President has not breached any legislation, since he has the power to do so.
For this reason, we urge the Mills administration to remain steadfast in its determination to strengthen the governance units at the grass root level which remain at the core of the democratic process in the country.