MP cautions assembly members over chieftaincy

Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh is the MP for Sunyani East.

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday February 22, 2011.
The Member of Parliament for Sunyani East, Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh has cautioned assembly members to ignore the temptations of dabbling in chieftaincy matters because it has the tendency to derail accelerated development.

“It is not within the powers of assembly members to install, enskin, destool or deskin any chief in Ghana because that is the preserve of the chieftaincy institution. Assembly members should not take sides in chieftaincy disputes but rather work to protect the interests of your community,” he said.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP gave the caution when he presented a paper at Nkoranza recently titled: “The district assembly concept and the assembly member.”
The two-day workshop was organized by the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) with sponsorship from the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) for newly elected assembly members.

Mr. Ameyaw-Cheremeh said the idea behind the local governance concept is to deepen the process of decentralization saying “it is important for assembly members to ensure that assemblies operate effectively and efficiently to bring development to the people.”

Stephen Agyemang Badu, budget analyst with the Techiman Municipal Assembly who took participants through the workings of the District Assemblies Common Fund underscored the need for assembly members to ensure effective utilization of resources at their disposal.

Emmanuel Danso of the District Assemblies Common Fund, who spoke on how assembly members could utilize such funding, urged members to follow the guidelines for disbursing funds and also assist the assemblies in their revenue collection drive.

Isaac Osei-Antwi, former Chief Executive of the Techiman Municipal Assembly, who commented on the relationship between the assembly member and the chief executive, called on them to be tactful, committed, humane and respectful to ensure that the people enjoy the benefits of good governance.

Nana Okofo Agyapong II, Adontenhene of Nkoranza Traditional Area cautioned assembly members against undue politicization of issues since such tendencies could impede accelerated development.

Senior Programme Manager of KAS, Isaac Owusu-Mensah said the various communities need urgent and rapid development and that there is the need for assembly members to support government and other civil society organizations to make the country better.