Government is moving fast to get the substantive Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) into office in the 260 Assemblies.
This is because the Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, Mr Dan Botwe said he was confident that the majority of the Chief Executives nominated by President Nana Akufo-Addo will be confirmed within 10 days from the release of the appointment list.
The Minister who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Okere in the Eastern Region released the list on Sunday after months of delay.
Mr Dan Botwe told JoyNews that the 16 regional ministers have been instructed to initiate processes in getting the 260 nominees confirmed to assist the President to achieve his promises to the Ghanaian people.
“We expect the Regional Ministers to carry Mr. President’s communication to the Secretaries of the various Assemblies, inform the Regional Directorates of the Electoral Commission and for that matter the District Directors too and then the process will start.
“By Order 15, within 21 days of receipt of that notice, the confirmation process should start. If we are able to do that this week, I’m sure some of these confirmations can start as early as this week. I expect that within the next 10 days almost all of them should be confirmed,” the Minister indicated.
Meanwhile, there have been pockets of violence and vandalisation of properties following the release of the list of the MMDCE nominees for the Assemblies.
Some supporters of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Chereponi and East Mamprusi Districts of the North East Region went on a rampage and destroyed party properties.
Also, the youth of Odododiodoo and Bukom in the Greater Accra Region took to the streets to protest the removal of the current Accra Mayor, Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah from office.
There have been threats from party supporters in other parts of the country.
However, Mr. Botwe said the misbehaviour of supporters of the disappointed candidates is baseless and unwarranted.
He urged the police to arrest and prosecute the protesters who caused destruction to properties.
“It absolutely has no basis at all. That is because somebody came for an interview and he was shortlisted, came to the national level, the Committee recommended that you should be given the position, the President says ‘no, I take the final decision. I think it should be somebody else’ and you think it is a justification for anybody to misbehave, absolutely not,” he said.
The Local Government Minister further revealed that a consensus was reached between government and the applicants that the final decision of their appointment lies with the President as stipulated in the 1992 Constitution.
He also debunked claims that the delay in the appointment of Chief Executives stalled works at the various MMDCEs.
Despite President Akufo-Addo rejecting some individuals put forward by a committee instituted to vet candidates across the country, Mr. Botwe believes that all the 260 nominees are competent to deliver on their mandates as expected.
