The Tamale Ecclesiastical Province Pastoral Conference (TEPPCON) and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) has supported Saboba District Assembly Financially to organise its special Town Hall Meeting at Saboba on the referendum. The present proposal to the citizens is whether they will accept or reject the election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives at the local level.

It also means that in the next District Assembly election, it will be based on party lines not on individuals if most of the people vote Yes.

Madam Dame Agnes Gandaa Executive Secretary of TEEPCON announced this when she addressed the Saboba District Assembly Town Hall Meeting at Saboba in the Northern Region.

She said“Strengthening Citizen Participation in Local Governance in the Tamale Ecclesiastical Province” project was conceived by TEPPCON and supported by KAS to reverse some of the challenges in the governance system in the country. She said it was in response to the Church’s general theme: “Mission, Justice, Peace and Development”.

According to her, the project was designed to be implemented in 10 selected Districts with five Dioceses of the Catholic Church in Northern Ghana, comprising Tamale, Yendi, Damongo, Wa and Navrongo-Bolgatanga Dioceses from September 2017-2021.

She said the targets were women, Youth and People With Disability (PWD), technocrats of District Assemblies and their allied departments and agencies as well as Assembly members.

Madam Dame said they had designed activities for each of them with the Town Hall Meeting as a forum to listen to what the various departments had done for the groups and the response of the groups to give a better understanding.

She said there were perceived disadvantages to “Yes” and that, traditional authorities would be left out because in the current situation, they (Chiefs) are consulted on the appointment of the 30 percent appointees.

Touching on some justification for the call for the Amendment of the Article 55 (3) and 243 (1) she indicated that in her opinion if they say Yes it will address the issue of low citizen participation in Local Governance since citizens would have a direct involvement in the election of Local Level political actors thus, District Assembly members, Unit Committee, MMDCES which can make them more accountable and responsive to the citizens.

She said it would also make the multi-party democracy a reality since all political parties would have space among elected leaders.

According to her, it would also take away the winner-takes-all situation since an elected President will be limited in his or her appointing responsibility of politicians into all such positions if they say “Yes” and it would enable women to elect their fellow women who are more competent and efficient into these positions.

Madam Dame announced that if it turns out that the referendum questions were rejected (No vote) but Parliament amends Article 243 (1), the law shall require them to vote for MMDCES, but not on Multi Partisan basis but if the referendum result is “Yes” Parliament shall approve the Amendment Bill to Article 55 (3).

She encouraged all opinion leaders and stakeholders to educate their members and citizens in general to come out to vote the “Yes” or the No by their conviction for them as a nation to have a way forward on the proposal.