Debate on amendment of Constitution to elect MMDCE’s long overdue – MP

The Member of Parliament for Nkoranza South and former Deputy Local government minister, Emmanuel Kojo Agyekum, says the debate on the amendment of the constitution to elect of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) is long overdue.

This comment by the lawmaker comes after the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, said there are ongoing consultations to reintroduce the debate on the election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs).

Addressing the general public on the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the 1992 Constitution on Thursday, April 28 2022, Akufo-Addo mentioned that he will continue to work for an extensive, national consensus on the issue.

“It was and continues to be my view that the repeal or modification of an entrenched clause of the Constitution should attract widespread support to make it acceptable and healthy for the body politic. We should further bear in mind the strong attachment of the Ghanaian people to multi-party democratic elections.”

“On the average, the turn out for national elections in the 4th Republic has been 72%, one of the highest in the world, whilst the turn out for the allegedly non-partisan local government elections has always hovered around thirty percent (30%),”  Akufo-Addo said.

Read Also: Akufo-Addo to reintroduce debate on election of MMDCEs

Reacting to the President’s comment with host of Atinka FM’s AM Drive, Kaakyire Ofori Ayim, Emmanuel Kojo Agyekum, said successive governments have not been bold enough to walk the talk with respect to the election of MMDCE’s.

He reiterated that if MMDCE’s are elected they would have no option than to be accountable to both the electorate who brought them into power as well as government.

“The debate is long overdue. During my time, I proposed that at least 5 people are appointed and vetted by a selected panel to ascertain their loyalty as well as their administrative competencies. Out of the 5, at least 3 people can be presented to the constituents to be voted for. I believe that until they are elected, the accountability of MMDCE’s will always be questioned”, Emmanuel Kojo Agyekum told Kaakyire Ayim.

Ghana | Atinkaonline.com | Vivian Adu