President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Groupe Nduom (GN), Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, has urged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to ensure that the election of the Municipal, Metropolitan and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) happen quickly without delay.

Dr. Nduom, who has been advocating for MMDCEs to be elected, described as welcoming news the announcement by the President that MMDCEs would be elected in 2018.

“So if today President Akufo-Addo is saying he and his government are going to make amendments to the constitution for the people to elect their own MMDCEs we welcome the move and it’s a good idea and must be done without delay,” he said.

Speaking on Accra-based Eezy FM yesterday, Dr. Nduom asserted that development can only be achieved if power was given to the local people.

According to him, those who argue that the election of MMDCEs would be in conflict with political administration were living in pre-historic era and not living in today’s world, stressing that countries like Ivory Coast, USA, South Africa are all electing their mayors.

He maintained that in some of these countries not all the mayors were in the same party with the president, yet development goes on.

According to Dr. Nduom, the country will benefit greatly when the people are able to cast a vote to elect their own metropolitan, municipal and district executives.

He intimated that the district assembly formed an integral part of the governance structure of the country, hence the need for successive governments to resource them.

“The central government is run to take care of national programmes, but when it comes to local development it belongs to the local people. This will ensure that those who live in the districts are involved in the choice of who governs them and further ensure that governance at the district level was enhanced for accelerated development,” he indicated.

The PPP has been at the forefront of this national crusade to amend the 1992 Constitution to make it possible for all MMDCEs to be elected by universal adult suffrage to bring accountability and development to the local level.