The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, says his side will in the coming days demand answers through a motion from President Akufo-Addo over the absence of substantive Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in the country.
Describing the development as unconstitutional and a drawback on the country’s decentralisation drive, the Minority says the absence is fueling conflict and retarding growth across the country.
JoyNews is learning the Local Government and Rural Development Minister, Dan Botwe, two months ago presented to the Presidents list of potential nominees after vetting thousands that applied for the jobs.
But the president is yet to act on it, and Haruna Iddrisu is unhappy.
“The President is not a caretaker president and he is to govern in accordance with law in respect to the constitution and not as he pleases.
“He appears to be sleeping and dozing off on the job and taking the Ghanaians for granted,” the Tamale South MP said.
He added, “It’s inappropriate and illegally for person’s whose constitutional mandate has elapsed to be asked to act in acting position that is repugnant to the constitution and the laws of the country.
“Imagine that you don’t have a chief executive in place, what happens to the management of conflicts if there are many in such areas.
“The district Security Council which is an establishment of law, will have to be chaired by them and managing those conflicts can be worrying and I think the president must stop dozing on the job and concentrate on governing the country in accordance with the law,” he said.
The South-Dayi MP, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has sued the Attorney General over government’s decision to permit MMDCEs to remain in office in an acting capacity.
The writ filed on his behalf by his lawyers led by Nii Kpakpo Samoa Addo says this directive is contrary to the constitution.
President Akufo-Addo is yet to name MMDCE’s for his second term in office. Consultations have since January 2021 taken place across the country, but the nominations are yet to be announced.
The MP wants the apex court to rule that all actions incurred by assemblies arising from the directives if MMDCEs are unlawful.
Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin says no vacuum has been created and that the president has the mandate to ask the chief executives to act.
The Minority Leader, however, insists the President is breaching the constitution by his actions.
“Article 296, says the president must act in a manner that is candid in the exercise of any discretionary authority.
“I think the president is destroying our decentralization concept well established during the PNDC era by people like Professor Kwamena Ahwoi. It is as if to suggest that the country can run and the districts can run without DCEs,” he stated.
Source:Fiilafmonline/JoyNews
