Africa-Press – Ghana. Mr Ekow Panyin Okyere Eduamoah, the Central Regional Minister, has entreated Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to eschew partisan politics and work collaboratively to drive the desired development.
He described MMDAs as essential machineries for development and must therefore be efficient, functional and effective always, approaching their work with unwavering dedication and commitment.
He particularly warned against lateness to and absconding from work before closing time, indicating that such behaviour sabotaged government’s development agenda and would not be entertained.
The Minister expressed the frustration when he toured the Agona West Municipality and Agona East District as part of his ongoing regional tour to assess the situation of work at first hand and deepen collaboration with local authorities to expedite development.
Mr Eduamoah paid courtesy calls on the traditional authorities and visited the assemblies to confer with them on how to drive development in those areas.
With a tone of disenchantment, the Minister called for the abolition of the Internal Audit Departments of MMDAs for their ineffectiveness.
He observed that the audit departments were barely playing any role to halt infractions and mismanagements at the assemblies, citing breaches at the ongoing Public Account Committee hearings.
The department only benefitted some staff members and had effect on the efficiency of the assemblies, he remarked.
Touching on physical developments, the Minister stated that building permits should not be issued on the blind side of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), adding that the Physical Planning Departments of the assemblies should be adequately equipped to work efficiently.
“The Budget Department must also work hand in hand with the Department of Physical Planning to rake in more revenue for development,” he said.
Mr Eric Gyamfi Odoom, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Agona West, enumerated some challenges faced by the assembly including the lack of offices and accommodation for the staff and appealed to the Minister to intervene to enhance productivity.
Mr Saeed Bashiru, Municipal Finance Officer for Agona West, appealed to the Minister to liaise with the Minister for Local Government to come out with a law to regulate the operations of commercial motorbikes in the area.
In his interactions with the chiefs, Mr Eduamoah explained that it was for the good reason of enhancing the participation of traditional authorities in governance that President John Mahama merged the Ministry of Chieftaincy Affairs with the Local Government.
Okofo Nyakrom Eku X, the Omanhene of Agona Nyakrom Traditional Area, implored government to restore the powers of chiefs to make them more effective.
He said chiefs, by law, had been largely emasculated and left with very little power and dignity to maintain order and promote development in their communities.
The law, he said, must be reversed with urgency to restore the powers of traditional authorities and their roles in governance and development.
He appealed to the Central Regional Minister to use his good office to impress upon the Agona West Municipal Assembly to complete the Agona Nyakrom police station started in 2016.
Nana Kojo Amoakwa V, the Krontihene of Agona Nyakrom Traditional Area, admonished the government to intensify the fight against illegal mining.
While commending government for taking some drastic actions against miners who polluted water bodies and forced the Agona Kwanyako Water Works to shut down, he said there was more work to be done.
He indicated that as chiefs, they had taken a strong stance against the menace and vowed not to countenance the pollution of water bodies.
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