General News of Sunday, 30 July 2006

Source: GNA

Three-day conference of chief executives ends

Mankessim (C/R), July 31, GNA - Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), who have the ambition to become Members of Parliament (MPs) have been advised to shelve it until the government gives the go ahead.

Mr Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, who gave the advice, said until such a time, those government functionaries would be given the "green light" to embark on political campaigns, MMDCEs should focus on the duties assigned them by the President.

The Minister gave the advice, when closing a three-day Mid-Year Review Conference for MMDCEs and regional Ministers from the Southern Sector at Mankessim.

Mr Asamoah-Boateng noted that any chief executive, who performed creditably would not find it difficult to win Parliamentary election and added that, "for now, any chief executive, who was found in a power struggle with his or her Member of Parliament will be made to resign. He called on the chief executives to rise up to the challenge of improving sanitation in the cities, towns and villages.

"You must stem the crisis sanitation is posing in the communities," the Minister stated.

Mr Asamoah-Boanteng urged the chief executives to delegate responsibilities to their staff, since they could not do everything by themselves but cautioned that they should ensure that those given the responsibility performed to their satisfaction.

"Work as a team to make every member of your staff feel as part of the process."

He said as leaders of the assemblies, they should show good will to the people, especially the traditional rulers to make them feel that they were part of the process.

"My objective is to deliver, and I will not tolerate anyone, who will want to retard my progress," the Minister warned. He reiterated his advice to the assemblies to step-up their local revenue generations to enable him fight for an increase of the percentage of the national revenue, which went into the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF).

Nana Ato Arthur, Central Regional Minister urged the chief executives to constantly share best practices so that they could build upon others' experiences.

Sixty-four MMDCEs and Regional Ministers from Eastern, Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western regions participated and they were taken through New Financial Systems and Procedures, District Composite Budgeting, National Health Insurance Scheme and Environmental Management among others.