PAY THE MMDCEs NOW – COALITION OF PROGRESSIVE ASSEMBLY MEMBERS (COPAM)

COALITION OF PROGRESSIVE ASSEMBLY MEMBERS (COPAM)
P. O BOX 234, ACCRA

PRESS RELEASE

PAY THE MMDCEs NOW

AS MASSIVE CORRUPTION HITS THE LOCAL ASSEMBLIES DUE TO THE NON PAYMENT OF SALARIES OF MMDCES.

Virtually all the current Metropolitan, Municipal & District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) appointed by the current government who have been subsequently endorsed by the various Assemblies and Asembly Members across the country have not been paid any salaries since the coming into office of this government over the past 16 months now.

A situation which has in no doubt led to most of these MMDCEs adopting what has become known as ‘innovative’ means possible to survive by the day and to also meet their financial obligations towards their immediate families and other dependents.

The Coalition Of Progressive Assembly Members-Ghana (COPAM-GH) finds this situation completely unfortunate taking cognisance of the amount of resources these officers handle at the local assemblies meant for various developmental projects and how the current situation is compelling some of them to simply adopt “ways and means” of getting along on a day to day basis.

We are completely disappointed in the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development for turning a blind eye to this phenomenon and allowing the situation of non-payment of MMDCEs to fester up to this time.

Our checks across the country indicate most of the MMDCEs have resorted to either adopting underhand dealings or simply delaying projects and programmes whose budgetary allocations have already been approved and redirecting same into other investments portfolios in order to survive on the accruing interests generated from same.

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Most MMDCEs as we speak are compelled by the situation to openly indulge in one corrupt practice or the other ranging from the awarding of contracts to their families, close friends and and cronies who they can count on and trust to guarantee them their ‘share’ sometimes thereby completely reducing either the quality of work to be done or the scope of same thereof.

These flagrant disregard for awarding contracts to qualified contractors and companies whose specialty lies in those areas is gradually setting a dangerous precedence at the expense of competency and experience

Our checks further indicate also, that some MMDCEs have resorted to openly inflating contract costs, whereas others have also shied away from awarding long term projects which have the potential to benefit their respective District Assemblies to the award of routine related contracts with the view to making short term gains to sort out their financial commitments at the end of the month since they do not have any regular source of income they can rely on due to the non-payment of their salaries.

The situation the MMDCEs find themselves now is not only dangerous for our Decentralisation programme and drive as a nation but more importantly serving as a good catalyst for them to be engaged in corrupt activities at the local government level.

As we all know, MMDCEs are persons entrusted with the management and control of financial resources and the powers to appropriate such resources for the collective development of the local Assemblies.

COPAM-GH can also speak on authority that almost all the MMDCEs across the country are not the least bothered about the issue of non-payment of their salaries since they are obviously using ways and means to get by since their appointment.

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Most of them hide behind the excuse of being simply focused on the task assigned to them by his Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo.

The reasons for their disinterest in their non-payment for 16 months for the services rendered for their respective Assemblies are obviously not far-fetched and can only be placed at the door step of corruption or underhand dealings.

COPAM is therefore calling on the government to immediately and as a matter of urgency take all the necessary steps to pay MMDCEs in order to put to rest this flagrant disregard for procurement at the local assemblies across the country if it is really committed to the fight against corruption in this country especially at the level of our local governance.

Long Live COPAM
Long Live Decentralisation
Long Live Ghana

Signed

Hon Dr. Richard Fiadomor
(Convener, COPAM)
0243138633
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Office of the President and Chief of Staff

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kwabena Frimpong