Assembly Members caught in illegality

About 3,000 motorbikes provided by government to Assembly Members to facilitate their movement in the discharge of their duties cannot be accounted for as they have opted to selling them rather than using them for their intended purpose.

The effect of this illegality on the part of Assembly Members is that it detracts from the efforts being made by various stakeholders to deepen the decentralisation system and local governance processes in general.

Information gathered by Public Agenda indicates that some Assembly Members in the Greater Accra, Eastern, Central, Ashanti and Western regions have sold their bikes, while some were reported to have been stolen.

However, Assembly Members in the Volta, Northern, Upper East, Upper West and Brong Ahafo regions are living within the rules as they have retained their motor bikes, Public Agenda enquiries have revealed. Our investigations unearthed the fact that the commonest means of transportation in the northern part of the country is motorbike; hence Assembly Members chose to keep them rather than sell them.

In 2012 the Government, in collaboration with the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG), handed the motorbikes to all Assembly Members across the country to enable them to engage with their constituents readily as well as support revenue generation.

The move by government was also to enable Assembly Members to perform their constitutional mandates of soliciting the views of the local people and reporting to the district assemblies, as well as support revenue generation.

Hon. William Azaglo, Assembly Member for Ahwerease Darmang Electoral Area in the Nsawam/Adoagyiri Municipal Assembly,Eastern Region, confirmed our findings in an interview with Public Agenda. “Yes, I heard that some of the Honourable Members have sold their bikes, but I don't have any evidence to support that. What I can say for a fact is that most of the government appointees who also benefitted from the bikes have sold theirs.”

Hon. Azaglo claimed that most of the motorbikes that were given to them were faulty and hence could not be used. “…. So when I ask my colleagues about the whereabouts of their motorbikes what they tell me is that they have parked them at home. Others also tell me they have stolen theirs.”

In a separate interview, the Assembly Member for Ingleshie Amanfro Electoral Area in the Ga South Municipal Assembly in the Grater Accra Region, Hon. Zakaria Mohammed Ali, indicated that some of the Assembly Members had had accidents with their bikes and had sent them for repairs.

He said although the bikes were given to the Members in the Municipality about two years ago, they have not been registered and therefore doubted how they could be sold without documentation.

He told Public Agenda that under Act 462 of the Standing Orders of the Assembly, Members had a lot of responsibilities, including conveying the messages of the electorate to the Assemblies and carrying out the policies and programmes of the Assemblies to the constituents and this demanded means of transportation. “So if we are provided with such assistance by the government, I don't really see why I should sell it.”