By Stephen Asante, GNA
Kumasi, Oct. 23, GNA - The election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) is a necessity if Ghana is to broaden the base of her democratic dispensation, Mr Simon Osei-Mensah, Ashanti Regional Minister, has noted.
“We need on board the active participation of all the political parties in our development processes, especially at the district level, for sustainable political stability and socio-economic growth,” he said.
Therefore, the impending December 17 Referendum on Article 55 (3) was a crucial exercise since it sought to fine-tune the entrenched provision in the 1992 Constitution, which barred the involvement of political parties in the District Level Elections, he said.
“We should not act as hypocrites since the District Level Elections come with their own political undertones.”
Mr Osei-Mensah said this when he addressed a training workshop for District Information Officers and cinema operators of the Information Services Department (ISD) in the Ashanti Region.
Ghanaians will, on December 17, have the opportunity to either reject or endorse a change in the Entrenched Clause to pave way for the involvement of political parties in the election of assembly and unit committee members.
To achieve this amendment, however, a critical minimum of over 40 per cent turn-out with over 75 per cent endorsement is required.
Mr Osei-Mensah said the Government, taking cognizance of the significance of grassroots participation in democratic dispensation had, as a result, resolved to give the requisite technical and material support to institutions mandated to create awareness on the impending referendum.
He indicated that the election of MMDCEs would, among other things, promote transparency and accountability in governance, and bring an end to the ‘winner-takes-all’ syndrome, which had dominated the political landscape under the Fourth Republican Constitution.
Nana Akrasi Sarpong, the Regional ISD Director, described the impending referendum as a litmus test for staff of the Department, and urged them to work assiduously for a successful exercise.
GNA
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