Delay in release of funds to Assemblies must be punishable – Dr Afari-Gyan  

Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, a former Electoral Commissioner, has asked the government to make it an offence to delay the release of statutory allocations of common funds to the local Assemblies. 

He said the delay was affecting the effective administration of local governance. 

Dr Afari-Gyan said this at a public lecture on Monday to mark Constitution Day, organised by the One Ghana Movement and the University of Professional Studies, Accra. 

He described it as a discriminatory practice where elected members of Assemblies did not receive salaries, stressing that the phenomenon created discomfort for their work. 

“We cannot achieve meaningful development without fundamental reforms in our local government system,” he said. 

He supported the call for the election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives to promote transparency and accountability. 

“We need to stop playing the ostrich and open the election of the Municipal Chief Executive to political participation, bringing more political parties into the governance system,” he said. 

He said Ghana’s democracy was work in progress and called for continuous appraisal to see if the country was on the right path. 

Mr Afari-Gyan stated that the country had become poorer over the years due to corruption, especially in the public sector, which called for urgent attention. 

He supported the call for the amendment of the Constitution and underscored the importance of separation of powers between the executive and the legislature to avoid abuse of powers. 

He advised the Council of State to periodically issue reports to the public to indicate advice given to institutions. 

Source: GNA