Ghana's decentralisation system military oriented- Kwesi Jonah

A Research Fellow at the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), Kwesi Jonah, has noted that Ghana's current Decentralized System was designed to suit a Military regime and not the Multi Party based Democracy currently in operation.  

He has therefore called for amendment of the 1992 Constitution to reform the Local Government system to be more suitable for Ghana's Multi-Party Democracy system.  He continued that a new system should include the election of M/DCES to promote accountability and in the process speed up development.   

Mr. Jonah was presenting a paper on Democratic Devolution in Ghana at the first in a series of Regional Dialogues on Democratic Devolution organised in Sunyani, the Bono-Ahafo Regional Capital by the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG) and the Civic Forum Initiative (CFI).    

IDEG in collaboration with the CFI organized the Bono-Ahafo Regional Dialogue on Democratic Devolution as part of a nationwide outreach.  

The Outreach which will be held in all the ten Regional Capitals between now and the 29th of September is aimed at mobilizing public support for amending Ghana's 1992 Constitution to introduce Multi Party Democracy, including the election of District Chief Executives, into the Local Government system.  

Representatives of Political Parties who were expected to be in attendance failed to show up with the PNC as the only Party represented.  

However , those that responded favorably to the invitation included; Religious Organisations, NGOs, the Electoral Commission, Chiefs and Queen Mothers, Students among others.  

Delivering a Paper on "Democratic Devolution in Ghana", Mr. Kwasi Jonah, said Ghana's system of decentralization which was designed during the reign of a Military regime, was imported wholesale, without any tweaking, and included in the 1992 Constitution.  

He said this has resulted in the exclusion policy which has all Political parties barred from playing any roles in Local Governance.  

He also mentioned that District Assemblies as they stand now are not accountable to the People, while the appointment of DCEs and 30 percent of Assembly Members by Government is undemocratic.  

He argued that changing the system to allow for Multi Party based election of DCEs will come with a lot of advantages that will speed up Ghana's development.  

He said most importantly it will reduce the tension and acrimony in general elections due to the winner take all system, as a Party the loses the Presidential elections can still look forward to winning some  Districts to contribute to National Development.  

Mr. Jonah also said a Multi-Party Based District Level Governance would also make DCEs directly accountable to the People and make it easier to for the electorate to assess the performance of Political Parties that are not in Central Government.  

Earlier in a welcome address, the Chairman of the Civic Forum Initiative (CFI), Major Gen. retired Nii Carl Coleman, stressed the need for Ghanaians to call on Government to seed up the Constitutional Review Process and ensure that the Constitution is amended to include election of DCEs and participation of Political Parties in District Level Elections and Governance.  

GBC