Traditional authorities have been urged to encourage and throw their weight behind competent and capable individuals in their communities to avail themselves for the position of assembly members.
This is necessary because assembly members as development agents in the communities must work in tandem with them especially in undertaking developmental projects in their communities.
Ellen Appiah-Osei, the District Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in Abura-Asebu-Kwamankesse district of the Central Region, who made the call, said as part of their mandate, Assembly members must meet traditional authorities and discuss challenges of their areas and draft proposals executed by assemblies.
She was addressing traditional authorities, queen mothers and elders of Asebu Traditional Council during their meeting on Tuesday as part of series of education and sensitisation programmes of NCCE on local government participation.
Mrs Appiah-Osei advised the electorate “to vote for individuals who reside in community as assembly members as they will be in better position to understand their plight, I will discourage where money are taken from aspiring assembly members before voting for them and later find ways of recouping the money during service to nation”.
Responding to a suggestion by Nana Kwaw Abada II, Gyaasehene of Brafoyaw traditional area, assembly members be given end of service package, she indicated that it was being considered since end of service packages given them were usually not enough.
“From January 2020, the 1992 Constitution will be amended to include election of metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives pending the outcome of referendum to offer the citizenry opportunity to vote for their preferred individuals as chief executives of the district.
“MMDCEs played vital roles in nation building, supported developmental initiatives, served as checks on abandoned national projects and our traditional authorities to join hands in fighting corruption as that stalled national development,” Mrs Appiah-Osei observed.
Nana Kwaw Abada, a member of the Council, suggested to the government to consider giving assembly members an end of service package since they were not paid to help curb corrupt practices in the assemblies. -GNA
