Private Legal Practitioner, Lawyer Kwame Gyan has blamed the excessive politicization of the selection and appointment of Metropolitan Municipal and District Chief Offices as the major reason for the poor management of local authorities in the country.
According to him, the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in the country have failed to discharge their mandate to effectively and efficiently plan and develop their local areas which has resulted in slum situations and unending land litigation cases mainly because of the lack of capacity of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Officers at the helm of affairs.
He lamented over the inability of most Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in the country to make their local economy viable to support trade and other economic activities.
“But you know the people we put there, if you contest an election normally and you don’t win you’re made a Metropolitan, Municipal or District Chief Executive Officer (MMDCE). In some cases, if you’re a party chairman and you want it you get the first preference. So if the party chairman bounced it off then it goes to another person otherwise the party chairman will become MMDCE”.
Lawyer Kwame Gyan
Lawyer Kwame Gyan further indicated the lack of capacity on the part of the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in the country has created the emergence of private developers who have taken over the development of most land in local areas in the country while public agencies required to have been the one directing the development of the country’s local environment have failed to discharge their mandate.
Lawyer Kwame Gyan Calls For Competent Personnel To Man Assemblies in Ghana
Furthermore, Lawyer Kwame Gyan called for immediate steps and measures from the government to appoint competent personnel rather than party ‘sympathizers’ and ‘cronies’ to manage the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in the country.
Describing the various assemblies in the country as ‘miniature republics’. Lawyer Kwame Gyan emphasized the need for the various assemblies in the country to be economically independent of the central government to initiate and undertake their development project and programmes.
“This is supposed to be miniature republics so you should ensure that qualitatively, because the failures of the subdivision are what is also fueling the failure of the bigger division. So who is ensuring the planning function is delivered at the local level? Nobody.
Lawyer Kwame Gyan
Moreover, Lawyer Kwame Gyan expressed deep concern over the lack of capacity of the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in the country to manage the collection of the property tax system which made the Ghana Revenue Authority take full control over its collection.
He noted that the lack of capacity on the part of the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in the country has been a miss-opportunity for the various assemblies to strengthen their financial and revenue capacity in the country.
According to him, the worrying situation has further compounded and worsened the problems of the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in the country.
“To the extent that even property taxation which should have been the base in terms of the economic viability of the assemblies have been taken away by the Ghana Revenue Authority because of the lack of capacity of the assemblies to collect property taxes”.
Lawyer Kwame Gyan
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