The former presiding member for KMA, Mr. Stephen Ofori has argued that political influence in Ghana is taking center stage in every activity in Ghana. Speaking with Alfa Ali on the Orange Sunrise show, he said that if politics is taken away from the local government, there will be sanity in the system.
Speaking on Orange Sunrise, Mr. Ofori highlighted the challenges surrounding the Common Fund, a major source of funding for assembly projects. He revealed that delays in disbursements significantly impact contractors, who often wait months or even years for payment. “Government is supposed to pay the assemblies from the Common Fund periodically, but sometimes the first quarter of the year passes without a pesewa hitting the account.
“Because per the contractual agreement, maybe three months or so, you should be paid, or whatever, six months, then it will get to the end of the year and nothing has been paid to them. So it’s one of those issues, he said.”
According to Mr. Ofori, the solution lies in electing their leaders through a non-partisan process. He believes that allowing the electorate to choose leaders based on merit rather than political affiliation will ensure accountability and effective governance.
“My brother, let’s take away politics from our local government. Trust me, my brother, we will have sanity in our system, and everything will be moving at the speed of light. That’s the only way we can go,” he said.
He noted that some contractors owed for over a decade have won court cases against KMA, leading to the seizure of the assembly’s accounts and assets. “As we speak, we still owe those contractors, and you can imagine the years, some up to 10 years or 15, 12, whatever. And so they’ve gone to court, they’ve won the case, and we have to pay them. So as a result, the court has garnered our accounts.”
“So whatever amount that is, that accounts, automatically goes to pay some of the contractors. And by so doing, some of our cars and properties have also been seized by courts.”
The discussion sheds light on the challenges facing local governance in Ghana, particularly in Kumasi. With increasing public demand for accountability, the question remains whether systemic changes will ever be implemented to ensure efficient governance at the local level.
