Salifu Kanton, the Director of Community Development Alliance (CDA), has urged the citizenry to support the election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to deepen the decentralisation process to guarantee social accountability, probity, transparency, rule of law and good governance.
“If the country will move forward and ensure our decentralised structures are working properly, then the citizenry should support the election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives to succeed and guarantee, social probity, accountability, transparency, rule of law and good governance,” he stressed.
Mr Kanton was speaking at the Upper West Regional civil society and citizen dialogue programme held under the theme: ‘The Referendum We Want’ organised by CDA, a non-governmental organisation focusing on community development in partnership with the Northern Sector Action Awareness Centre (NORSAAC).
The forum generated a public discourse on the proposed referenda on constitutional amendments that will enable the direct election of MMDCEs as well as appraise the recent referenda on the creation of six new regions, bringing the administrative regions to 16.
Mr Kanton noted that “by voting, the democratic space will be opened at the grassroots and ensure the citizenry owned the governance processes, be active to have the capacity to question leaders as well as offer alternative opinions on public policy issues.
“The best alternative for the citizenry is to support the amendment of the constitution that allowed the direct election of MMDCEs is to reassure the citizenry that the power of good governance and rule of law remain in the citizenry.
“If we keep quiet and what we do is to take cover under political parties and covering wrongdoing of political leaders, eventually the wrongs will swallow all of us,” Mr Kanton cautioned.
Issah Danaa, Manager, Monitoring and Evaluation of NORSAAC, urged the Electoral Commission (EC) to educate the public on the referenda and election of the MMDCEs and the rules and regulations governing its processes.
Ali Osman, the Upper West Deputy Regional Director of EC, said the commission adequately prepared for the referenda to ensure that accurate and fair election was conducted.
-GNA