Govt cautioned against the election of district chief executives

Assin Fosu May 18, GNA- Participants at a two -day workshop on "Fighting Corruption As The Agenda For Democracy And Good Governance", have cautioned against the election of district chief executives, arguing that it could undermine the apolitical nature of the local government system.

They said district chief executives belonging to the opposition parties could sabotage the development objectives of the government in power.

The participants were reacting to a paper on "Enhancing Good Governance Through Effective Decentralization" delivered by the Senior Budget Analyst for the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem, Mr Bless Kwame Darkey.

The workshop was organised jointly by the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) and the National Commission for Civic Education, to solicit public views on corruption in Ghana, how to fight it and how civil society and district assemblies could foster good governance.

Mr Darkey said the election of chief executives could speed up the decentralization system since the appointment of the district political heads was good on paper and not in practice.

He said it had led to corruption and the filling of the district assemblies with political cronies, many of whom are just the "yes men of the appointing authority".

Mr Darkey stressed the need to strengthen the capacities of the district assembly sub-structures, by providing adequate funds and logistics through the district assemblies' common fund.

In his paper on "Manifestations Of Corruption In The Ghanaian Society", Mr Harrison Kofi Balley, Programme Officer of the GII, suggested the need for the position of the Attorney- General and the Director of Public Prosecutions to be made autonomous to facilitate effective trial of cases on corruption.

Mr Peter Dery, Assin North District Coordinating Director, called for improved collaboration between the district assemblies and civil society to facilitate development.

He attributed the failure of many development projects, in the country to the lack of consultation between implementing agencies and beneficiaries. 18 May 05