The quest to deepen citizen participation in local level development has led to considerable reforms in the Local Governance and Decentralization structure particularly under the fourth republican constitution of Ghana. Considering the four arms of decentralization in Ghana, i.e. Administrative, Political, Decentralized Development Planning and Fiscal decentralization, a relatively significant improvement has been made in an effort to deepen decentralization in all these four arms. In spite of these reforms, there is still a myriad of bottlenecks facing the actual realization of the objectives of decentralization in Ghana. One significant reform that is being championed in reference to the political arm is to make the position of MMDCEs an elective one.
Undoubtedly, the leadership of the two major political parties in Ghana seem to have agreed to charter a new path in our local governance system that is make the position of Chief Executives of the Local Assemblies an elective one. The point of divergence among the NDC and NPP is whether the election should be held on political partisan basis or not. Both political parties have advanced their arguments and stance on this subject. Having followed keenly submissions and reasons for the call to make the position of Chief Executives of Local Assemblies elective, three cardinal points and arguments have been advanced by proponents and advocates of this school of thought. They are; A step to deepen social accountability and hold MMDCEs accountable by their electorates, an opportunity to increase citizen participation in community development and to give meaning to the popular phrase in Decentralization i.e. “Power to the people”.
As a student and enthusiast of local governance and decentralization in Ghana, the simplest form of definition I would give to the concept is to reiterate the famous words used by Jerry John Rawlings in the late 80s during the PNDC era, “POWER TO THE PEOPLE”. These words when soberly reflected on explains the letter and spirit of the concept of decentralization and local Governance. For advocates of the election of MMDCES, making the position elective will further actualize the power of the people to vote for their preferred choice of candidates on who to lead and serve them as Chief Executive of the Local Assemblies and with same power, they can either maintain or change the person based on competence and performance in subsequent election.
In as much as I appreciate the views expressed on the above subject in making the position of MMDCES an elective one, I would want to advance my arguments on why in my humble opinion, I still hold the view that, the position of MMDCEs should still be by appointment based on the current political dynamics of the country.
One dominant feature that has characterized elections in Ghana is needless personality attacks, family denigration of candidates, unsubstantiated allegation and insults. The sad reality is that, these are even common in internal party elections. For this reason, many well- meaning Ghanaians have stayed off from offering themselves for an elective political office in order to keep their reputation and protect their families from these needless attacks. It is commonly said that, “if you want to know your family history and creditors of your grand-parents, attempt to contest an election in Ghana”. Making the position of Chief Executives of Local Government elective will clearly result in a situation whereby persons who would want to keep their reputation and prevent their families from being denigrated due to the obvious characteristics of elections in Ghana shy away from active local level politics. The current practice provides an opportunity for such qualified and competent persons to be given the opportunity to be appointed and either confirmed or rejected by only Assembly Members without these brouhaha that characterizes elections in Ghana.
Monetization is a key feature of elections in Ghana. Averagely, the cost of elections for an aspiring Member of Parliament was estimated at 85,000 dollars (approximately 500,000ghc) in the 2016 elections of Ghana (see, Asante and Kunnath, 2018). Making the position of MMDCEs elective will equally suggest that, individuals who are willing and capable to serve as MMDCEs without such an amount of money may not be able to have the opportunity due to increasing monetization in elections in Ghana. Undeniably, there are many well celebrated political actors who have risen through the political hierarchy by starting off with appointment as Chief Executives of Assemblies. The state probably would have lost these caliber of human resources if the position was elective. An elective position at the local level will lead to a phenomenon where popularity, the rich and majority group will take the center stage of local governance.
Political polarization has manifested in our democracy inferring from the 1992 elections up to date. Some regions have clearly demonstrated their undying love and support for certain political ideologies. In spite of the fact that, individuals belonging to one political party have served as Members of Parliament since 1992, in some constituencies, other citizens with varied political ideology have had the opportunity to serve as MMDCEs in such local Assemblies in contributing to local level development. Making the position of Chief Executive of the Assembly elective will lead to a situation whereby some communities will only have people who identify and ascribe to a certain political party serving as both MPs and Chief Executives largely whether elections are held on partisan basis or not. This will deny others who ascribe to other political ideologies the opportunity to be key influencers of development at the local level. There may be a few exceptions though.
The simplest appreciation of political decentralization is to allow political heads at the local level the authority to implement policies and interventions that address local community needs. An important feature of this system is to ensure that, interventions at the local level are not in contravention with national policies and framework. In view of this, it is always important that, the political figure at the central government has a political representative that shares in the vision and aspiration of the central government. To further appreciate this, imagine the chaos that will characterize our educational system in a situation where elected local government officials (MMDCE) who do not share in the vision of the Free SHS policy of the central government introduce or implement a contrary plan at their respective local levels.
On the issue of accountability, the current system provides for a deeper accountability since the appointed MMDCE is directly accountable to a President who has been elected by majority of Ghanaians to lead in the developmental agenda. A non-performing Chief Executive in this case can be easily fired by the President. Also, the Chief Executives are directly accountable to citizens through elected and appointed Assembly Members who are direct representatives of indigenes at the local Assembly. The law provides for Assembly Members to pass a vote of no confidence by two-thirds of Assembly Members when they are dissatisfied with an MMDCE.
Per our cultural dispensation, traditional leaders especially paramount chiefs who are the custodians of the land play a critical role in local level development. There have been reports on certain appointed chief executives misconducting themselves and undermining the authority of chiefs in certain decisions which has resulted in severe conflicts and retarded development. In such instances, if the situation cannot be resolved, the chief Executive is asked to step aside for a different person who will be willing to work and not undermine the authority of traditional authorities. In the case of making the office of MMDCEs electable, development will surely come to a standstill should a major conflict arise between a revered traditional authority and an elected Chief Executive since none of them can be asked to step aside in the interest of unity and community development. In order to ensure that, political leaders at the local level do not try to undermine the authority of the traditional authorities and ensure effective stakeholder consultation and better collaboration among these local community actors, the current practice should be maintained.
Lastly, the current structure provides an avenue to ensure increased citizen participation. Assembly members are by law to organize community engagements and solicit the opinions of citizens to be sent to the Assembly and communicate back to citizens after deliberations by the Assembly. Also, the preparation of the medium term development plan provides an avenue for inputs to be made by citizens’ usually through their zonal councils or Area/Town councils. If the Assembly is better resourced to ensure these practices are operational, then citizens’ participation will be realized. If the position of Chief Executives is made an elective one whiles the above structures remain dormant, then how does that increase citizen participation in local level development after elections?
In conclusion, before considering making the position of MMDCE an elective one, conscious effort must be made to demonetize politics in Ghana, address political polarization in Ghana, adequately resource and enhance effective IGF mobilization to ensure citizen participation, encourage decorous politics, provide a clear requirement based on qualification and competence on who to serve as Chief Executives and address other bottlenecks that hinder decentralization in Ghana. Let me state that, in principle, I am a strong advocate for any system that will promote social accountability, increase citizen participation and ensure development emanates from the local people. However, this should not let us undermine or overlook the current socio-cultural and political underpinnings that has characterized elections in Ghana since 1992 in our quest to reform local governance.
Political Neutrality may not exist in our current dispensation but political objectivity surely exists. May we find the strength to make our contributions to national and political discourse based on political objectivity and professional experiences and not hide under political neutrality to remain silence on critical national matters. Democracy is beautiful because it makes room for divergent opinions. God bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation great and strong.
Vincent Ohene-Ntow
YALI Dream
A Better Ghana
A Brighter Africa
Email; vincentntow12@gmail.com
Facebook; Kwame Ohene-Ntow
Personal Blog: mirrorofafrica.blogspot.com
The writer is a Development Practitioner and a Local Government Enthusiast. He holds a Master’s Degree in Development Policy and Planning from KNUST and a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Ghana Business School. He is also an Alumnus of the Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI, RLC).
