Sebastian R. Freiku
7 October 2008
Kumasi — MR. PATRICK Kwame Frimpong, Assembly Member for the New Tafo (Krofofrom) electoral area, has declared his intention to vie for the position of Presiding Member (PM) of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), when it becomes vacant soon.
The two-year tenure of office of the Presiding Member of the KMA, Baffour Adjei Kesse V, the Adumhene of Kumasi, comes to an end on October 30, this year.
Kwame Frimpong, 33, with only two years experience as an assembly member, and therefore relatively new to the Assembly concept, said his decision was informed by lapses in the role of the incumbent PM.
He noted that the KMA, as an agent of development, was not functioning well, because supervision and monitoring of its activities, over the past two years was not the best, and therefore saw himself as a suitable replacement.
According to him, the PM, by virtue of his position, was the custodian of the bye-laws of the KMA, and that when he assumed office he would ensure the effective implementation of the bye-laws.
The young assembly member also pointed out deficiencies in the existing structures, like the Sub-Metro Councils and Town Councils, which Frimpong said, were not functioning. "The Assembly structures are in disarray," he noted, saying he was disappointed at the lack of supervision and monitoring, by the incumbent PM, for which reason the members were contemplating voting him out.
According to him, only eight out of the required Town Councils were in place, saying that was in the tenure of office of Nana Akwasi Agyemang, under the National Democratic Congress (NDC) regime.
The concerned assembly member, referred to Section 18 clause 1 of the Local Government Act 462, which stated that the Assembly shall meet three times in a year, during which ordinary meetings the Metro Chief Executive would first outline his or her mission, brief Assembly on government's policies and interventions, and finally brief the Assembly on activities of the various sub-committees, for deliberations and implementation.
He said besides the ordinary meetings, the Assembly was bound to convene emergency meetings, as well as special meetings, but which were not done, to exhaust deliberations of the House.
The Chronicle has gathered that Frimpong is not alone in this quest, and that some of the oldest elected members of the House, numbering about 14, were gearing themselves up to vie for the seat, when a date is set for election.
The paper is also reliably informed that the House would prefer an elected member as a Presiding Member, to a government appointee.
Mr. Gariba, assembly member for Oforikrom, was yet to firm up his decision to contest for the slot.
Nana Kofi Senyah, Assembly Member for New Suame and former presiding member, is highly tipped to get the nod of his colleagues, to become the next presiding member, even though he would not comment on the issue.
The Adumhene, who was appointed to the KMA as a representative of Nananom in 2006, has between now and October 30, to conduct elections for the position to be contested for, and that is mandatory.
He told The Chronicle that he would definitely seek re-election. "There is no doubt about my contesting again," he confirmed in a telephone interview.
According to Nana Adjei Kesse, elections would be held as soon as practicable, after he had deliberated on the issue with all stakeholders.
Copyright © 2008 Ghanaian Chronicle. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
Read comments. Write your own.
