The Minister-designate for Local Government and Rural Development, Hajia Alima Mahama, has justified the revocation of the appointments of metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs).
A letter, dated January 11, 2017 and signed by Hajia Mahama, stated, “By virtue of Article 243 (3) of the Constitution of the Republic, H. E. The President of the Republic has revoked the appointments of all Metropolitan/Municipal/District Chief Executives with immediate effect.”
The letter directed all the affected MMDCEs to hand over their relevant duties to district co-ordinating directors for further instructions.
However, the government’s decision has been criticised by some Ghanaians as unlawful, because the signatory to the letter is yet to be vetted by Parliament.
One of the critics, who is a lawyer by profession and also the Greater Accra Regional Deputy Youth Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Godwin Edudzi Tameklo, said; “Although the President has the power to revoke appointments, Hajia Mahama is only a nominee.”
According to counsel, the Chief of Staff was the rightful person to have signed the letter on behalf of the President because Hajia Mahama had not been vetted by Parliament.
Justification
Justifying the revocation of the appointments in an interview with the Daily Graphic, Hajia Mahama said, “The important thing is that the President appointed me as his representative at Local Government Ministry to take charge of the affairs of local governance pending my being approved by Parliament.
“I was not acting illegally. Rather, I acted on behalf of the President.
“The body of the letter described me as the representative acting on behalf of the President,” Hajia Mahama stressed.
Assurance
The Minister-designate stressed that the MMDCEs were appointees and not public servants or elected officers.
“Article 243 (3) (b) allows the President to revoke their appointments, and I was directed to write the letter on behalf of the President,” Hajia Mahama added and gave an assurance that the affected MMDCEs would be paid their end-of-service benefits (ESB).
Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has indicated that Ghanaians will, from 2018, begin electing their MMDCEs.
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