Local Assemblies need boards - Prof. Aheto

Professor John Bright Aheto, a Council Member of the Institute of Directors (IoD) Ghana, has called for the institution of board of directors for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to promote good corporate governance at the assemblies.

He said that was the only way to establish checks and balances at the Assemblies, address dishonest use of power for rapid socioeconomic development at the community level.

Prof. Aheto said this at a forum organised by the Institute of Directors Ghana, in Ho, on the theme: “Good Corporate Governance”. He said the absence of boards at the Assemblies accounted for the uncoordinated slow pace of development at those levels and must be fixed.

Prof. Aheto said it was unfortunate that hundreds of public institutions including senior high schools, administrative agencies and ministries were without boards, and that the situation was creating gaps in the administrative structure.

"...For good corporate governance, there should be no institution without a board for one day," he stated.

Prof. Aheto said the situation stemmed from the practice of “automatically” dissolving all public boards with the election of a new Head of State, and said it was unconstitutional and must me checked.

He said the corporate sector ought to live up to expectation, and show true governance by upholding integrity and accountability.

Prof. Aheto called for sustained monitoring and evaluation of performance, and also for a “proper mix of competent and qualified personnel with passion to serve on boards” for growth of public institutions.

Mr Rockson Dogbegah, President of the IoD, said the Institute was engaging Parliament to ensure that directors appointed to public boards had training on corporate governance.

The forum in Ho was the first of a nationwide engagement towards the establishment of regional chapters of the Institute and was attended by heads of over 100 corporate organisations, security agencies, religious, and educational institutions among others.