AMA charged to close ranks for dev

Enoch Darfah Frimpong Politics Mar - 22 - 2013 , 08:16

Members of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) have been advised to close their ranks or risk having the assembly dissolved, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Akwasi Opong-Fosu, has stated.

“If we step out of here and it continues, everybody will go home”, in an apparent reference to the internal wrangling in the assembly.

The leadership of the assembly, according to Mr Opong-Fosu, must do all within their power to resolve disagreements, petty squabbles and factionalism, factors which have the tendency of not only stalling the progress of the capital city, but also derailing gains made so far.

“I am sure you are aware that failure to resolve your differences as a united body could compel central government by law to step in to dissolve the assembly and institute an interim management committee to run the affairs of this assembly”. I hope we don’t get to that. Work out your internal disagreements because if the current trend continues, the law will apply”, he emphasised.

Mr Opong-Fosu was addressing a packed assembly meeting called to discuss issues affecting the AMA in recent times.

For some time now, there have been some disagreements between some members of the assembly and the Presiding Member (PM), Mr Desmond Addo Biney, over a letter he wrote to the Metropolitan Chief Executive, Dr Alfred Vanderpuye, but which was wrongly copied to the Greater Accra Regional Minister and other external entities.

That letter generated a call for a motion of no confidence to be passed on Mr Addo Biney, who failed to retract the memo and apologise at a meeting held on Thursday, March 14, 2013.

Mr Opong-Fosu noted that the disagreements coupled with negative media reports about the assembly in recent times, and the Daily Graphic’s report about the GHc1.4 million allowances paid to assembly members could present the assembly in a negative light, and erode the confidence that people have reposed in the AMA.

“If you cannot solve your internal issues, how do you solve those outside the assembly? Honourable members, the electorate gave you the mandate to represent them for the purposes of working together to bring about the needed development to reduce poverty and hardship and to make the communities decent to live in”, he stated.

Mr Opong-Fosu asked members of the assembly to avoid rancour and focus on their core mandate, which is to offer political and administrative leadership for the national capital.

He noted that members must channel their energies into looking for strategic ways by which they could address issues on sanitation, congestion, provision of roads and other social amenities which would make life comfortable for the people of Accra.

He noted that all members of the assembly had a role to play for the collective advancement of the assembly, and they must therefore work as a team to address issues affecting the national capital.

The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr Julius Debrah, said AMA had a lot to do to ensure the success of the entire region, and urged the members to stay united, drawing inspiration from the old maxim that “United we stand, divided we fall”.

Mr Addo Biney stated that the memo was only meant for those within the AMA and, therefore, apologised to Dr Vanderpuye and members of the assembly.

Story by Naa Lamiley Bentil