The Presiding Member for the Ablekuma West Municipal Assembly in the Greater Accra Region,Emelia Agyemfra Donkor, has called for mutual respect between Presiding Members and other Assembly members and the electorate they work with.
She noted that respect for each other was important because "if they treated the electorates with dignity and respect, they would also demonstrate respect for Assembly members by retaining them as Assembly members".
"The retention of most Assembly members in power is highly dependent on the way you respect and dignify your electorates and colleagues at the Assemblies so we should not disrespect them because we will depend on them for our votes," Mrs Donkor said.
She made the call at the 2023 Greater Accra Presiding Members two-day conference in Accra which was on the theme: Actualisingenvironmental sanitation in Greater Accra- The role of Presiding Members', and among other issues built the capacity of members on functions of Presiding Members and initiatives towards the progress, growth and development of Assemblies.
Mrs Donkor, who is also the treasurer of the Greater Accra Presiding Members Association observed that "if you respect and dignify your beautiful wife, she will respect and dignify you so if you respect and dignify the electorates, they will also respect and dignify you and continue to vote for you and with respect for each other we can avoid conflicts and misgivings among the members and electorate.
Baba Seidu, Representative of the Greater Accra Regional Minister, encouraged Presiding Members to continue serving the country loyally, despite challenges the country was going through because they were core players of grassroots democracy as they presided over law making and implementation at local levels and should be revered for their meaningful contribution towards growth and development.
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He lauded the Greater Accra Assemblies for retaining most of their Assembly members and Presiding Members as continuity could enhance progress, growth and development and revealed that the Ashanti, Western and Northern regions were also making moves to initiate sanitation programmes as sequel to the Regional Minister's"Operation clean your frontage".
Samson Akwetey, Representative of the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, indicated that rapid population growth and urbanisation had contributed to sanitation challenges in cities and urban areas and called on Assemblies to re-strategise against filth by initiating monitoring measures to arrest people engaged in destruction of sanitation facilities.
