The Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) is proposing the election of regional ministers in addition to the election of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) by the people to enhance Ghana’s democracy.
Commending President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for his level of commitment shown towards the election of the MMDCEs, the LPG said allowing the electorate to elect their own MMDCEs and regional ministers would make the country’s democracy more vibrant and effective.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra, the founder and leader of the LPG, Mr Percival Kofi Akpaloo, said: “If the people are allowed to decide who governs them at the local and regional level, they will endeavour to choose a good leader who will not play partisan politics with their development agenda,” he said.
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Background
Mr Akpaloo shared this view following the announcement by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development that road map to elect the MMDCEs was progressing steadily.
At a press conference in Accra last Wednesday, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hajia Alima Mahama, revealed that the road map for the election of MMDCEs was progressing steadily.
She said the government was awaiting Parliament to approve a bill to amend Article 55 (3) of the Constitution after which other processes, including a national referendum would follow.
According to Hajia Mahama, a national campaign strategy had been developed to facilitate a successful national referendum, which would be conducted alongside the District Level Elections, in December 2019.
“The road map on the election of MMDCE has been designed to be implemented in four phases: Pre-referendum phase, post referendum phase, change management and capacity building phase. The Electoral Commission has set December 10, for the referendum”, she stated.
Reaction
Reacting to the announcement, Mr Akpaloo said the party was content with work done so far by the government, saying that the manner in which the government was handling the election of MMDCEs deserved commendation.
“The LPG gives the government a thumbs up for work done so far because a lot of political parties and Ghanaians are all in support of the election of MMDCEs,” he said.
Regional ministers
However, throwing more light on the election of regional ministers, Mr Akpaloo said allowing the President to appoint regional ministers would also make it difficult for them to be accountable to the people but the President.
As it stands, Mr Akpaloo said, regional ministers would not consider it as a duty to be accountable to the people but only to the President since their allegiance “is only to the government in power”.
“We are proposing that regional ministers must be allowed to be elected by the people and this will go a long way to enhance Ghana’s democracy,” he stressed.
