Not election of DCEs but adhering to best practices
I have followed the public debate on whether or not Chief Executives of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) should be elected.
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One school of thought holds the view that the election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) is the best way to hold them accountable for their stewardship to the people.
It further states that elected MMDCEs will have a safe environment to perform their duties without undue political biases or fear of being removed from office if they fail to succumb to the dictates of the ruling party.
The second school of thought strongly states that the election of MMDCEs will be a drain on the national coffers, since more resources will be committed to conducting the elections at the expense of development projects.
To them, any attempt to elect MMDCEs will be a recipe for corrupt practices at the local level because aspirants will use all means to recover the resources they lost during the campaigns to get elected.
They argue that elected MMDCEs will be at loggerheads with the ruling party in terms of policy implementation if it so happens that they do not belong to that party.
As more people continue to advance one argument or another to buttress their position, it must be noted that maintaining the old order of nominating MMDCEs by the president or welcoming the new paradigm of electing them is not the solution to the problems of MMDAs.
The Auditor’s report for 2014 has revealed deep cases of corruption and financial malfeasance at the MMDAs, suggesting that due diligence and procedures are not followed in the management of the resources at the local level.
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I would suggest the strengthening of the system and robust monitoring and evaluation regime at the local level to ensure that MMDCEs, whether elected or nominated, adhere to best practices.
If the decision to elect MMDCEs is implemented without any robust systems in place, it will just be another case of packaging old wine in fresh bottles.
Email: ngnenbetimothy@gmail.com