Download PDF - Institute of Economic Affairs Ghana
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ensure that the District Assemblies account regularly to the people.<br />
Before and after sittings, they must engage the people, explain policies to<br />
them. The Broadcasting Code has to be amended so the local FM stations<br />
can broadcast the decisions and the policies <strong>of</strong> the District Assemblies.<br />
You need to give them revenue. There are certain activities which can<br />
be decentralised – like passport applications, company registrations. You<br />
need to beef up the manpower <strong>of</strong> the district assemblies. We must encourage<br />
graduates to work there, look at their manpower requirements.<br />
When it comes to revenue, the guidelines issued by the Local Government<br />
Ministry on the use <strong>of</strong> the District Assemblies’ Common Fund must be<br />
abolished. They must be given the leeway to decide how they are going to<br />
use the revenue.<br />
We must also find them some other areas <strong>of</strong> revenue. You also have to<br />
decentralise certain departments – health, education, among others. There<br />
must also be participating in the budget, so that the people at the grassroots<br />
can decide what they want, and also drag down releases to them. We must<br />
ensure that the District Assemblies are accountable.<br />
As to the election <strong>of</strong> the DCE, I have my own views about that. You have<br />
to talk about compatibility and fidelity and I believe that the Central Government,<br />
which is partisan, needs somebody to liaise between it and the<br />
non-partisan district assembly.<br />
Follow up question:<br />
You have each spoken <strong>of</strong> election at the district level, including assembly<br />
members as well as the District Chief Executive. At the moment, election<br />
<strong>of</strong> assembly members is supposed to be on a non-partisan basis. Would<br />
you want this to continue or would you rather elections were held on partisan<br />
basis?<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>. Mills:<br />
I think that candour in politics is very important. You want people with<br />
the right ability, with the right expertise, to represent them. I believe that<br />
the idea behind the non-partisan nature at the very beginning was to try<br />
and get people who otherwise would not stand, to serve. But I agree with<br />
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