To broaden their knowledge and the role of the local government activities in Ghana, aspiring assembly members have benefited from a capacity-building workshop in Lower Manya Krobo Municipality in the Eastern region.
The capacity-building workshop, which aimed to educate and explain the local government functions and concepts to the aspiring assembly members was fully sponsored and organised by the former Presiding Member (PM) of the Assembly.
The capacity building is expected to help aspiring assembly members with the day-to-day governance of their electoral areas and to familiarise themselves with the Local Governance Act and the Standing Orders.
Addressing the media after the training, Mr David Walter Hormenu, who is also a former Lower Manya Krobo Constituency Chairman for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) noted that there was the need to make the local government functions significantly understandable.
He expressed grave concern over what he described as excellent concepts of the local government that has been reduced to partisan activities with dire negative consequences on the ordinary people.
This, the former PM for the Lower Manya Krobo Assembly said, motivated him to take the aspiring members through some basics of the local government act for them to realise their duties as assembly members and to lobby for development in their areas.
Mr David Hormenu said that the workshop for the aspirants had two phases, which included pre-election and post-election, adding that the local government system was making the work of the assembly members difficult.
Mr. David Hormenu indicated that being independent as an assembly member at the local level would help combat corruption and improve service delivery and, therefore, called on the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) to intensify its role in educating the public on the role of local government activities.
He continued that the government should stay away from making district assemblies elections partisan, adding that assembly members are performing abysmally because of the partisan stance, since they cannot hold the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) accountable.
The former Lower Manya NDC chairman called on the government, non-governmental organisations and other relevant bodies to join him extend the education of aspirants to other regions.
On his part, Godwin Oblanda Domete Totroko, Assemblyman for the Odumase South electoral area, seeking re-election thanked Chairman David Walter Homenyo for organising the training workshop, which he described as the first of its kind.
According to him, the Resource Person demonstrated significant experience as a former Assemblyman and by extension former Presiding Member, which would go a long way to adequately prepare the Assembly members, particularly the first-timers.
“As for me, I’ve attended some before, but the kind of things he thought this time around has built up my mind. And I think if we have such people, we have to hold them well, so that they can teach us a lot”, he stressed.
He continued that: “the kind of things he teaches all show that as an Assemblyman, your work is to help your people. With this, it won’t be like you have gone for the position, but seated for people to be hailing you with the name ‘Honorable’, for you to respond, but not working…”
The Odumase South Assemblyman hinted that the former PM for the Lower Manya Krobo Assembly, made it known to them that “if you are aspiring for the position of an Assemblyman, the work is what is needed because you are going to represent your people, you are going to be the mouthpiece for your people, so when you go to the assembly, don’t go and sit there quietly.”
In a related development, a total of 87 Candidates have been confirmed by the Electoral Commission (EC) to contest for Assembly Member positions in 32 Electoral Areas in the West Akyem Municipality.
In addition, 254 Candidates are also contesting as Unit Committee Members for the 32 Electoral Areas.
This was revealed by the West Akyem Electoral Officer, Madam Sarah Gyamfuah Akuoko.
Briefing the media, the Municipal EC boss stated that most of the Electoral Areas have two and three Candidates, except Breku-Manso, which has five Candidates and Beposo James Town Electoral Area, which also has six Candidates, including a Journalist, Mensah David Atakora.
The 2023 District Level Election (DLE) will be held on December 19, 2023 allowing eligible voters to elect Assembly Members to represent their respective electoral areas in the various metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies (MMDAs), as well as five Unit Committee Members in each electoral area.
