The recomposed Bongo Assembly, resulting from the December 17, 2019 District Level Elections has been officially inaugurated at a colourful ceremony in the district’s capital, Bongo in the Upper East Region.
In his welcome address to open the day’s proceedings, Bongo District Chief Executive (DCE), Hon. Peter Ayinbisa Ayamga made a pledge that under his administration, decisions taken by the Assembly will be promptly implemented so as to satisfy the development aspirations of the people. He urged the newly sworn-in Assembly Members to ready themselves for regular dialogue with Management of the Assembly as “the work of the District Assembly requires a great deal of collaboration between Assembly Members on one hand, and Management as well as Heads of Department on the other”.
Hon. Ayinbisa who doubles as the Parliamentary Candidate for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2020 general elections disclosed that, the Assembly’s membership comprised some 38 elected members representing 70 percent of the house and 16 government appointees making up the remainder 30 percent. He added that in accordance with Article 242 of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution and Section Five’s (5) subsections one to three (1-3) of the Local Governance Act of 2016 – Act 936, the District Chief Executive and the Member of Parliament were also members of the Assembly.
The DCE entreated all citizens and other stakeholders in the district to see the Assembly as their own and support it to discharge its mandate which will be of benefit to all. He stated; “the Assembly is the Government for all the people of this district. We all own this Assembly and we have the responsibility to protect it and support it to function effectively”.
He also cautioned community members to be measured in their expectations from their Assembly Members as the job was a sacrificial one without any salary or emoluments. Meanwhile, he cautioned the new members not to indulge in the habit of promising to do huge things in their areas as such ventures will only attract problems for them.
Don’t make promises you can’t fulfill – Bongo DCE to new assembly members. Source: Citinewsroom.com
Deputy Upper East Regional Minister Hon. Frank Adongo Fuseini who delivered the President’s address, charged assembly members across the country collaborate effectively with their various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives to advance the implementation of government’s programmes as contained in the Co-ordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development Policies 2017-2024. He stressed that government will continue providing resources for the improvement in the well-being of Ghanaians and the implementation of laudable interventions such as the Free Senior School Programme, “One District One Factory” and the Planting for Food and Jobs Programme among others.
The President’s representative also appealed to the new Assembly Members to partner the Assemblies in increasing their revenue thresholds through the roll out of modern and innovative ways to rake in more internally generated funds for the execution of development projects and the smooth operation of the assemblies.
Assemblies have further been directed by the President to ensure that, the phenomenon of slums especially in marshy areas was curtailed and that, lands were developed according to standardised building codes and approved plans. Meanwhile, he tasked Management of Assemblies to enforce strict compliance in the areas of sanitation and environment health at all times.
The new Assembly however, made two unsuccessful attempts to elect a Presiding Member (PM) shortly after the inauguration. On the first count, the only two contenders, Hon. Duke A. Anaba had 32 votes and Hon. Christopher Akasake attained 22 votes with one recorded spoilt ballot. Few minutes later, another round of voting was sanctioned but yet none of the two got the nod. This time, Hon. Duke’s votes went up just a little to 34 while Hon. Akasake lost one vote from his previous score. Per the rules of engagement, the Assembly shall convene in 10 days to get a PM elected.
Source: Peter Atogewe Wedam