Local Government Advisory Board inaugurated

Senior Minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo has inaugurated a 12-member Ministerial Advisory Board for the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and tasked members to ensure the regular payment of property tax at the various metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs).

“The poorest administered taxes in Ghana are the property tax. I will entreat you the board to show interest and work as a team to achieve the objective of the ministry,” Mr Osafo-Maafo said at the ceremony in Accra.

Advice

The minister urged the board to contribute ideas that would help implement effective programmes aimed at accelerating the development of the country, particularly the rural communities.                   

“We believe in rural development and we must go all out to uniformly bring the country together at a level in development. The current government wants uniformity and is going to make sure that we obtain that,” he said.

Board members

The board, which is chaired by Mr Osei Bonsu Amoah, has Mr Kwesi Boateng Adjei, also a deputy minister, Collins Ntim, Mr C.K. Dondieu, Dr Nana Ato Arthur, Mr Felix Mensah-LA a deputy minister of Local Government, and Mr Joseph Antwi as members. The rest are Mr Benjamin K. Gyasi, Dr Esther Ofei-Aboagye, Mr George Kyei Baffour, Mr Ameyaw Cheremeh and Dr Vladimir Antwi Danso as members.

Mandate

In her speech, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hajia Alima Mahama, indicated that the ministry had the mandate to ensure the attainment of effective performance management in the local government system to sustain economic growth through the participation of citizens and accelerated service delivery at the local level within a decentralised environment. 

She acknowledged the ministry’s modest gains during the last seven months and mentioned the constitution of a committee to work towards developing a framework for the election of MMDCEs, the review of Act 936 and a proposal for stakeholder consultations on the Advisory Board.

“The membership of the board is clearly spelt out under section 39(2) of the law and its key function is to advise the minister on the effective formulation of policies for the effective administration of the ministry in the performance of its mandate,” the minister further stated.

Assurance

Speaking on behalf of the board, a former Director of the Institute of Local Government Studies and a local government expert, Dr Esther Ofei-Aboagye, said the board would play a vital role to sustain development in urban and rural areas for the benefit of the people.

According to her, the board would suggest cutting-edge polices that would help move the country forward.