Parliament urged not to tamper with Article 243

Issaka Amon Kotei, a local governance expert, has insisted that there is no defect in the current local government system being practised in the country and urged Parliament to withdraw from tampering with Article 243 of the 1992 Constitution.

“What we need is some slight changes just to put us on the right track, we don’t need a major paradigm shift, the system should be tweaked to allow agencies like the Public Services Commission among others to vet appointees after their nomination by the president,” he suggested.

The amendment of Article 55(3) seeks to repeal the provision of the constitution which bars political parties from local assembly and district level elections, if approved in the referendum, it will pave way for Metropolitan Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to be elected on partisan basis if Parliament completes amendment of Article 243 (1) to make the position elected instead of appointed.

But Dr Kotei maintained that parliament must reconsider the amendment of the Local Government Law to enable the president to still appoint MMDCEs.

On the contrary, Dr Oduro Osae, the Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, observed that time was ripe for the nation to democratise local government system, just as had been done at the national level saying “why is it we have constitutional democracy, yet we have to still inherit the Provisional National Defence Commission law? The progress and reform of our local government system is necessary now.”

The Constitution requires at the referendum for 40 per cent of qualified voters will vote,
out of the 40 per cent that will vote in the referendum, 75 per cent must vote ‘yes’ in favour of the referendum, following the successful completion of the referendum, Parliament will have to amend Article 55(3) to pave the way for the election of MMDCEs. -kasapafmonline.com