The Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS) has been tasked by the Minister of Local Government, Decentralisation, and Rural Development to organise meetings with pertinent stakeholders in order to foster consensus for the election of Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies Chief Executives (MMDCEs).
Legal reforms to facilitate the election of MMDCEs, according to Mr. Daniel Botwe, are “on the government’s unfinished agenda.” He also said that talks with stakeholders would be helpful in gaining insight into their views on significant constitutional revisions.
At the ILGS’s 6th Congregation Ceremony in Madina, Accra, Mr. Botwe told reporters that the results of the meetings would be presented to the President for his consideration.
We have met with IDEG and CDD, so we are tasked with starting these breakfast meetings and speaking with all stakeholders to see if we can focus down on where we differ and see if there is agreement, the official added.
The Minister stated that the debate over whether local elections should be partisan would be settled through talks to determine the specifics of the necessary legal adjustments.
The New Patriotic Party, which I represent, believes that it should be partisan, but we nevertheless seek to establish a wider agreement. The adjustments must be made if it is necessary for it to be partisan, Mr. Botwe said.
The 1992 Constitution’s entrenched provision, Article 55(3), forbids the practise of party politics in municipal government.
Due to a lack of agreement on the participation of political parties in municipal elections among significant players, a planned referendum to change that section of the Constitution was abandoned in 2019.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo declared the government’s intention to review the referendum after achieving agreement on the issue at the start of a three-day orientation for confirmed MMDCEs in Accra in 2021.
The President stated, “Should such a consensus be attained for the repeal of Article 55(3), and an agreement reached for political parties to participate in and sponsor candidates for election in the MMDCEs at any point during my tenure as President of the Republic, the matter would be brought back to the forefront of public discourse for the necessary action to be taken.”
The then-Ministry of Local Government commissioned the ILGS in 1999 as a project to deliver consistent and frequent capacity-building initiatives for the Local Government sector.
The ILGS is also in charge of conducting local governance-related research, as well as offering consulting and advisory services to the government, local government units, and other parties who require them.
At the Congregation on Saturday, a total of 111 students who pursued various postgraduate programmes at the ILGS graduated.
The Director of ILGS, Professor Nicholas Awortwi, pleaded with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to grant the Institute a Presidential Charter so it may confer its own degrees.
Currently, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology is associated with the ILGS.
The ILGS, according to Prof. Awortwi, developed its ability under the guidance of KNUST, and the proposed autonomy “will enhance our upward trajectory without limiting our core mandate.”
