ASSEMBLY MEMBERS INUGURATED

The First session of West Gonja District Assembly had been duly inaugurated.

New Assembly Members; some of whom have been elected and others appointed by government to carry the mantle of the MMDAs in the next four (4) years were sworn-into office.

His Excellency John Evans Atta Mills noted that, some of the Assembly Members have been re-elected whilst others were re-appointed. This means that, some have experience and will share their knowledge and experience with the new members he added.

The President stated that, the election and appointment of members as assembly members is a mark of confidence the people have in them and they are therefore expected to live up to expectation.

He said for the duration of their four-year term, they are to serve their people and country at the local government level in a way and manner that will let people appreciate the fact that they are truly participating in the decision-making process and governance of the nation.

He outlined some of the duties of Assembly Members stated in Section 16 (1) of the Local government Act 1993, Act 462.

He noted that, when the Assembly is served by dedicated and committed individuals who make a duty to demand accountability of them and management of the MMDAs, then the credibility of the Assembly will be assured in respect of its decision making and service delivery to the people.

He mentioned that, any member who will use his or her position to gain contracts or undue favours from the Assembly will be committing a serious offence of conflict of interest and would be liable to sanction.

He cautioned members that, as representatives of the President and first servants of the state at the District level, they must comport themselves in the administration and demonstrate to the people that are indeed available as chief servants of the districts.

He added that, a number of pragmatic interventions have been undertaken by the government to further deepen and give effect to our decentralized system of governance, and these include:

* Formulation of a reviewed National Decentralization Policy
* Production of a National Decentralization Action Plan being implemented
* Reduction in the number of Unit Committees to about 5,000 to be co-terminus
electoral areas for effective functioning and management
* Formulation of the Draft Urban Development Policy
* Implementation of the street naming and house numbering exercise
* Implementation of the new sanitation policy
* Implementation of the sanitation guards component of the NYEP
* Strengthening of the Local Government Service Secretariat, etc.

He emphasised on the need for new Assembly members to come out with new strategies in collaboration with management to generate adequate revenue to complement the efforts of central government.

In addition he said, the success of every MMDAs will largely depend on the level of cooperation between Assembly Members and the Chief Executive as well as other management staff in the discharge of their functions.

Touching on sanitation, the president asked all MMDAs to put premium on sanitation and waste management activities to rid the towns and cities of filth and health problems associated with insanitary conditions.

He said this year being an Action year, government will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that performance targets are met.

He assured members that, government will continue to support all MMDAs in their quest to render better services to the people and to develop the nation Ghana.

He told members that, they are the bedrock of the Better Ghana agenda and he trust that they will acquit themselves well in this regard so that together they will continue the process of building a vibrant and resilient economy, ensuring a transparent and accountable governance, investing in the people and expanding the infrastructure as set forth in the manifesto and policy document.

The president made this remarks in a speech read on his behalf by the Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Airports Company Limited Hon. Doreen Owusu Fianko.

The DCE Hon. Adam Matawkilu also took his turn to address members. He revealed that the assembly is made up of 27 Elected Members, 12 Government Appointees, and the Hon. Member of Parliament for Damongo/Daboya Constituency. This brings the total number of the Honourable House to 41.

He noted that, the vast nature of the area, coupled with a lot of rivers and streams make it difficult to access the whole area all year round. Added to this is the poor road network.

This he said has led to the reference of some parts of the communities as "overseas". "I think it is not fair to have overseas in our own country" he regretted.

He added that the situation has also led to imbalance distribution of resources as some of the donor partner's interventions are time bound.

He mentioned that, it is due to these challenges that the chiefs and elders, in collaboration with others, have written to the government for the consideration of a separate constituency for Daboya/Mankarigu.

He entreated those coming for their first time to visit the mole game reserve.

On his part, the Member of Parliament of Damongo/Daboya Constituency Hon. Sammy Wusah on behalf of the government handed over a key of a 22 seater minibus to the Headmaster of Ndewura Japka Senior High Technical School.

He remarked that government has not relented on its efforts to deliver the better Ghana agenda. He told the people that, plans were far advanced to carry out other projects in the district.

The headmaster thanked the government for his efforts to promote quality teaching and learning. He promised to maintain and sustain the bus for its purpose.

The ceremony was witnessed by the Damongowura Japka Lermu and his elders, Heads of Department, Heads of Political Parties, Religious Leaders and the General Public.

On a new development, Hon. Salia Mahama L was elected as the Presiding Member of the West Gonja District Assembly.

Hon. Ayuba Seidu an Assembly Member contested with Hon. Salia Mahama L a Government Appointee in the West Gonja District Assembly.

The election of the presiding member nearly ended in a stalemate because none of the contestants obtained two-thirds of the total votes cast after the first round of ballot.

Hon. Salia Mahama L polled 24 votes and his opponent Hon. Ayuba Seidu polled 16 votes.

After some negotiations, Hon. Ayuba Seidu decided to step down and Mr. Salia Mahama L polled 36 votes with 3 against thereby getting 90 percent to qualify him as the Presiding Member.

One vote was disqualified.

Balloting was conducted by the district electoral Officer, Mr. Andani N Issah.




BY: ATULE REGINA