President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says the establishment of strong bonds of co-operation between Members of Parliament and Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives will help generate dignified, productive lives for the Ghanaian people.

According to him, since the advent of the 4th Republic, Ghana has embarked on a path of systematic decentralization as the vehicle for development.

Synergy, therefore, between two of the main protagonists, i.e. MPs and MMDCEs, he added, is a prerequisite for a successful journey.

“It is imperative, regardless of our political, ethnic or religious affiliations, that MPs and MMDCEs work together as a team, with the major objective of helping to improve the living standards of the Ghanaian people, and helping to build a progressive and prosperous nation. The reverse, i.e. turf wars and a breakdown in relationship, will certainly retard the process of development,” the President said.

President Akufo-Addo made this known on Saturday, 10th November, 2018, when he addressed a joint workshop of MPs and MMDCEs from the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.

Himself, a former three-term MP for Abuakwa South, the President indicated that he has first-hand knowledge of the relationship, harmonious or otherwise, between MPs and MMDCEs, and its impact on the wellbeing of the citizenry.

“Given that we have an urgent, pressing need to develop Ghana, we cannot entertain distractions occasioned by intractable conflicts between our MPs and MMDCEs,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo reiterated that the new paradigm of effective governance demands maximum co-operation between Chief Executives and MPs, adding that the closer and more sincere will be the co-operation between these two principal actors, the greater and more extensive will be the development.

Government’s vision of building a “Ghana Beyond Aid”, he stressed can only be realised when the stakeholders, especially at the local level, partner to harness all the resources available to them efficiently for the benefit of their people.

The President noted that Government’s flagship policies such as “Free Senior High School policy”, “One District, One Factory”, “One Village, One Dam”, “Planting for Food and Jobs”, “Cedi Equivalent of One million dollars per constituency per year” require maximum co-operation of MPs and MMDCEs for their effective implementation.

“The policies have the capacity to transform local economies, and bring wealth, jobs, progress and prosperity to every part of the country, so that your constituencies and districts become places where people move to, and not from,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo, thus, appealed for inter-district and constituency collaboration, in finding innovative ways of dealing with the vexed issues of sanitation, environmental degradation, crime and unemployment.

“The two groups of you must help device new ways of increasing the share of Internally Generated Funds (IGF) of the Assemblies to augment what the Central Government is able to provide. Government commits to evolve policy and law to create an enabling environment to facilitate these efforts,” the President added.