A local governance expert, Dr Richard Fiadomor, has expressed disagreement with calls to abolish the 30 per cent government appointees to District Assemblies, citing the country’s unitary state structure.
He emphasised that the President should maintain a role in local governance, even if Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) are elected on a non-partisan basis.
“As for the scrapping of the 30 per cent government appointees, I don't agree with that call. Ghana is a unitary state and we cannot take away the hand of the President completely, even if we have to elect Chief Executives on non-partisan basis,” he stated.
Dr Fiadomor, who is also the President of the Chamber for Local Governance (ChaLoG), expressed this view in an interview with the Daily Graphic.
His comments followed a recent poll by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) which revealed that 83.8 per cent of Ghanaians prefer non-partisan elections for all Assembly Members, while 55 per cent support the abolition of appointed members.
He added that the IEA poll's findings underscore the need for a more democratic and responsive local governance system in the country.
Election of MMDCEs
Dr Fiadomor, however, agreed with the calls that MMDCEs should be elected in the country.
He argued that the current system, where the President nominates MMDCEs, has not served the interests of Ghanaians.
“The clarion call by majority of Ghanaians simply goes to make manifest the overwhelming support to have our MMDCEs elected now more than ever before," Dr Fiadomor said.
He cited research by ChaLoG, the Centre for Democratic Development, the Afrobarometer Report, the University of Ghana, and the Institute of Economic Affairs, which all point to the need for change.
“The major consideration of appointing Chief Executives in the past and I dare say currently was based on political patronage and not necessarily on meritocracy,” he said.
He added that this has led to MMDCEs prioritising their allegiance to the President over the needs of their constituents.
"A considerable number of persons who got the opportunity to be confirmed to the office, saw/see themselves as a direct appointee of the President and hence their allegiance is mainly to the powers that be and a near-zero allegiance to the very people who voted for the President to assume the reins of government,” he said.
For his part, the Head of the Political Science Department of the University for Development Studies, Dr Gbensuglo Alidu Bukari, noted that the country’s current local governance architecture, established under PNDC Law 207 (1988) and entrenched in the 1992 Constitution, was designed to decentralise power and promote grassroots participation.
However, he said, key aspects, particularly the President's authority to appoint 30 per cent of Assembly Members and all MMDCEs, have been criticised for weakening local accountability.
Dr Bukari believes that non-partisan contests could widen civic engagement, allow competent independents to compete, and help shift attention from party loyalty to community development priorities.
