The Ashanti Regional Deputy Secretary of National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Kwame Zu has expressed worry at the rate party members demand for their due to be appointed into the offices of district assemblies.
Mr. Zu lamented that the local government system is flawed, saying the problem is the quality of people who occupy the offices of the district assemblies in the country.
Speaking on the Ultimate Breakfast in Kumasi, he bemoaned that, ‘All meaning Ghanaians should be worried that party members are pushed into office, apparently am equally worried that partisanship has taken the district assembly elections, the situation as it is, I wouldn’t say it is not a reality, it is so pervasive to the extent that party members feel justified demanding for their due that they should be appointed into the district assembly offices, without recourse to laid down structures and provisions of the law,’ he said.
According to him, due to their party colours and the government in power, they are appointed without any expertise, suggesting that there is the need to take a second look at the concept of the district assemblies’ law.
The Ashanti Regional Deputy Secretary of NDC, explained that the motivation for which the law provides that the President should have a free hand in the appointment of 30% representation at the assembly level, is to provide an opportunity to balance the seemingly lacking expertise as a result of the universal adult suffrage that the country adopted where every Ghanaian is eligible to contest.
Expressing dissatisfaction, he said, ‘I have watched videos of the winners and you could see that, with all due respect, some of the men elected…you could see that this is a local champion in his locality, apparently who drinks heavily and so popular among his peers, he is not popular based on his good deeds but bad deeds rather. As a result of his popularity, he has earned himself a seat in the assembly’.
‘Am not sure of the level of engagements and discourse such a person will bring on board. Nonetheless, he is the representative of the people; he will collate views from his people and channel same at the assembly level that is okay, it’s allowed’.
According to him, it is in anticipation of this that the laws are provided that certain categories of people are appointed to augment, the possibility of people who may not have the expertise to be elected into office.
Mr. Zu reiterated that the kind of expertise appointed is baseless, there are people who don’t have the expertise, when you look at the Curriculum vitae of some of these winners, you will find many more businessmen and women especially traders, traditional rulers etc.
‘Where is the space for the doctors, nurses, lawyers who have expertise’, he asked.
