In the maze of Asante Kotoko running their bus into a horrible ditch, the NDC and NPP haggling over 17.5% or 3% flat VAT rate, ‘Koforidua Legon’ launching Ghana’s Satellite One, Unemployed Private Nurses threatening to picket, Pantang Hospital staff going on strike, Inusah Fuseini’s bugging of the Lands Ministry office and Adwoa Safo’s Senior High building, it is quite easy for a weekly columnist – such as I am – to miss the opportunity to tackle one issue of incalculable impact on the future of our dear country. The matter is whether or not to thumb-print at the polling stations for men and women who want to go by the designation Metropolitan, Municipal or District Chief Executive. But, I refuse to be lured by any of the admittedly equally interesting topics of the week, so to be able to address the billion-cedi question. Straightaway, I move that Ghana takes steps to begin to elect her MMDCEs next year.
In all the questions in the world, this one, why, is the very best: it is at the heart of all solutions to all challenges. So, I am going to tell you why we should subject interested persons to the rigours of the ballot box.
But, before then, let me pay obeisance to persons that have persistently advocated the election of chief executives: President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Progressive People’s Party’s leader, Papa Kwesi Nduom. Their consistency is a mark of principle and conviction.
Of course, there are such other giants as Kwamena Ahwoi – Ghana’s longest serving Secretary/Minister of Local Government – who are decidedly against the election of MMDCEs. I respect their view; I disagree with them. Their school of thought warns that, should we elect our chief executives, we risk sabotage in some districts. They illustrate their argument thus: Imagine NPP being in power and such an election taking place – you are likely to have dyed-in-the wool NDC people emerging as municipal or district chief executives in all the twenty-something vacancies in the Volta Region. There will be close to 20 in the Northern Region who are of the same colour and equally strong representation in the Upper East and Upper West; apart from the single-digit numbers that you will have in the other regions. As the argument goes, these political and administrative heads who are opposed to the NPP leadership and ideology will under-develop their areas just to make their archrival party unpopular. The reverse, were the NDC to be in power, is also true – according to the antagonists of the MMDCEs election.
A facet of that argument is that the Opposition will actually use the millions of Cedis of Common Fund and Internally Generated Funds they get annually to build their war chest so to regain power at the next election. In a manner reminiscent of the proverbial ostrich, some anti-MMDCE-election advocates plead that, while the Presidential and Parliamentary bids are partisan; the local assemblies are non-partisan and so we should not invite partisanship into them via the election of chief executives.
The office of directly elected mayor (or DCE) has become an increasingly common feature of local government throughout the developed democracies, spreading from its largely American origins to a range of European states. Two Dutch scholars declared in 2003 that ‘directly elected mayors are becoming more and more common all over Western Europe’ (Schaap and Ringeling 2003, p. 5; see also Denters and Rose (eds) 2005). Colin Copus (2006, p. 15) likewise argues that there is “a recent trend towards the direct election of the local political leader in many Western democracies.” The idea of elected executive mayor has thus become fashionable, already permeating Africa.
Nigeria, Africa’s economic giant, has 774 councils in 36 states. Mayors’ term of office: three years. Election: direct
Responsibilities: culture and leisure, education, environment, planning, roads, transport, waste. Abuja is the Federal Capital Territory and consists of six area councils, including Abuja City. The second economic giant, South Africa, is divided into 231 municipalities and six ‘metropolitan municipalities’ in nine provinces. The mayors’ term of office is fixed at six years; they are evolved through direct or indirect elections that are determined by the provincial government. Responsibilities of S. A. city bosses include taking charge of the environment, fire, planning, public health, roads, transport, utilities, water and sewerage. Pretoria, the de facto capital, is located in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality.
Another English-speaking African country – Kenya – has 67 counties, 62 towns, 43 municipalities and three cities in seven provinces. Mayors’ term of office: five years. Election: direct (cities and municipalities); indirect (counties and towns.) Responsibilities: dependent on delegation from central government but most provide basic environmental, planning, public health, roads and waste services. The fourth country comparable to Ghana, Uganda, has 80 districts. Mayors’ term of office: five years; Election: direct. Responsibilities: education, environment, public health, and welfare. Capital: Kampala City Council is divided into five administrative divisions. Under their constitution, the central government can decide to administer the city, which sounds nebulous.
Other African countries chosen for this analysis, which are different from Ghana in terms of official language and political history, include Morocco. This Arabic-speaking state is made of 1,547 communes in 16 regions; its mayors’ term of office: six years. Morocco’s mayors too are picked through direct elections. Responsibilities: culture and leisure, planning, public health, public safety. Capital: Rabat is part of the Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer region. Egypt has 232 districts in 29 governorates; its Mayors’ term of office is indefinite; no wonder they are appointed – not elected. Responsibilities: limited, not laid out. Capital: Cairo is administered by the Cairo Governorate, which divides the city into four areas for administrative purposes. The Amharic-speaking Ethiopia, the seat of Africa’s collaboration and development, unfortunately, continues to pick heads of districts and cities in her nine regions through indirect elections. Mayors’ term of office is five years. Responsibilities: culture and leisure, economy, education, health, planning. Capital: Addis Ababa is a chartered city and is further divided into 11 sub-cities, each with their own city council and mayor appointed by the Addis Ababa mayor, still detracting from the direct election. (Source: citymayors.com)
Ghana, Africa’s torchbearer in the quest for representative government, appears to be lagging behind. Two hundred and sixteen is the number of our local government entities in 10 regions. Out of the 216 entities, six are metropolises, 49 are municipalities and 161 are designated district, according to www.gra.gov.gh
Mayors’ term of office: four years. Election remains indirect, with our MMDCEs being appointed by the President subject to the assemblies’ approval. Responsibilities: education, environment, planning, public health, welfare. Capital: the Accra Metropolis is one of four metropolitan districts in Ghana and forms part of the Greater Accra Region, which is led by a regional minister appointed by the President.
Even taflatse, Sierra Leone, which has been ruffled by civil war and more intense poverty, has been electing her mayors since 2009 for their four-year terms in all the 12 districts of her three provinces. Responsibilities: dependent on urban/rural character, councils can be delegated functions from central ministries. Capital: the Western Area is separate from the three provinces, consists of two districts and contains the capital city, Freetown. (citymayors.com) Even Sierra Leon has surmounted the purported fears and is electing her DCEs. Is that to suggest that we in Ghana should elect just because many others are electing their local political leaders? No, I am not advocating the bandwagon approach.
But, before I elucidate more reasons Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo should put his Presidency on the line to get our MMDCEs elected – just as he has for the annihilation of galamsey – let me take a leaf from Dr. Nduom’s conviction to calm the nerves of those genuinely dreading the spectre of chief executives election. As the PPP leader notes, in those nations that elect their local council leaders, not all the mayors are in the same party with the president or ruling government; yet, development goes on there.
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