Stop sleeping on the job - Greater Accra Minister tells MMDCEs

The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Linda Akweley Ocloo, has criticised the level of ineptitude and lack of seriousness by some Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in the region, describing it as a drawback to the reset agenda by President John Dramani Mahama.

In a scathing criticism yesterday, the regional minister took the MMDCEs to the cleaners, accusing some of neglecting their duties, turning their offices from government work to party activities and failing to deliver on their mandate.

“I want to get straight to the point and say I am extremely disappointed with the inefficiency and complacency exhibited by many of our chief executives.

At this stage, excuses are nothing but an embarrassment to the people we serve,” she said.

“Leadership is not about sitting in offices and enjoying the perks of your position, but it is about delivering results; and right now, many of you are simply sleeping on the job,” the regional minister added.

Ms Ocloo was speaking during a media engagement by the regional coordinating council and the 29 MMDAs in the region to give an account of their activities.

The focus areas for the engagement were the status of streetlights across the region, progress made in sanitation management and regulatory enforcement relating to wrongly-placed billboards.

Criticisms

Ms Ocloo described as unacceptable a trend among some of the MMDCEs to use their offices for political party activities.

“I have reports that many of you have turned your official offices into party meeting grounds, filling them with unauthorised officials and visitors, while your staff, the very people who you are supposed to lead, are denied access to discuss official matters.

“This is abuse of office and unacceptable,” she said.

Again, she expressed her displeasure about the MMDCEs' use of personal assistants to carry out official assignments.

Such a trend, she said, must stop immediately, as personal assistants had no locus to undertake certain activities.

“Some of you have surrounded yourselves with personal assistants who have virtually taken over your official responsibilities.

“This must stop immediately. Assemblies cannot be run by unapproved and unappointed individuals hiding behind your authority,” she added.

The regional minister warned the MMDCEs that she would not hesitate to recommend their removal if they failed to up their game and help President Mahama achieve his objective of resetting the country for a better Ghana.

“The era of excuses is over. I will not hesitate to recommend the removal of non-performing chief executives. The people of Greater Accra deserve better, and they will get better, with or without you,” she added.

Update

Regarding streetlights, Ms Ocloo reiterated her commitment to improving the lighting to ensure safety and security in the region.

She announced that the regional coordinating council had secured 3,000 streetlights from the Ministry of Energy, which will be distributed to the MMDAs, with each assembly receiving 100.

On sanitation, she stated that the situation was unacceptable and therefore urged the MMDCEs to be proactive and implement strict measures that would keep the region clean, adding, “sanitation is not a favour you are doing the people, it is a core responsibility”.

The regional minister further criticised the assemblies for failing to curb the rampant placement of illegal billboards in their jurisdictions.

“Work with the police, intensify surveillance and take proactive measures.

Stop waiting for instructions before acting. Leadership demands initiative, not laziness,” she added.

Stewardship

All 29 MMDCEs or their representatives provided an account of the work their outfits were doing to address sanitation, street lighting and illegal placement of billboards.

While acknowledging the magnitude of the challenges due to insufficient resources and lawlessness, they assured that they were working hard to tackle them.

For instance, the Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Michael Kpakpo Allotey, said his outfit had embarked on a serious decongestion to improve the movement of goods and services and sanitation.

However, he warned that people who had gone back to the roads and pavements to sell, ignoring the directives of the AMA, will face the full rigours of the law in a subsequent exercise.

Writer’s email: emma.hawkson@graphic.com.gh