Former Deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye has said Metropolitan and Municipal Chief Executives should be blamed for flooding being experienced in Ghana’s capital city. According to him the local authorities have reneged on their responsibilities and forgotten that they are the ones mandated to ensure every development in the towns and capitals conform to the special planning of a particular area.
“The law says before anyone put a structure the person must seek development and building permit because the Assemblies would have to ensure that what one is going to do conforms to the overall planning of the area and they have the appropriate building materials”. And what one is going to do would not cause any further harm to any other person or affect the total development of the area. “Again, if people are building in areas they are not supposed to build, in water ways and roads and causing flood in the city, I would solely blame the MMAs”, he said in an interview.
He emphasised that Chief Executives are being paid to make sure laws are enforced and people comply with the laws; and if people who are mandated by law to ensure effective implementation do not do their work and allow these things to happen they are liable, he stated. Mr. Edwin Vanderpuye was again quick to add that politicians are also part of the problem because they do not allow the local authorities to carry out their work the way they want to as they want to influence the work of the Assemblies.
“The Politician would first call the DCE, MCE and the physical planner to direct a particular project which is ether theirs or related to them to be allowed to continue. This, he noted leaves such officers to renege on their responsibilities. “People who are in responsible position who are supposed to know what is right and wrong are those facilitating these things”, he lamented.
Again, there are issues of people throwing rubbish into the gutters and dumping anywhere, and despite that still the responsibility of the Assemblies. “If the Assemblies were doing their monitoring work well, those who throw rubbish into the gutters would be arrested and prosecuted, and seriously speaking I blame ineffective local governance system in the country for our owes”.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com
He said the situation is not good enough, adding that we have fallen far behind compared to how some of the neighbouring African countries respond to issue of gender empowerment and equality.
Again, Ghana cannot follow the US and the UK, their records are also not good as Rwanda is the highest now with female representation at fifty (50) something percent and about fifteen African countries have gone beyond the thirty (30) percent mark according to the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) statistics.
“The struggle for the liberation of Africa of which Ghana was one of its leaders was not only for political liberation, the call by Kwame Nkrumah that African must unite in his book ‘Africa Unite’ were based on the wisdom and vision that our political independence will be nothing if we remain independent under external aid”
Mr Nyusi’s assurances come on the day the continent was observing the AU Day; a day set aside by the Union to commemorate the formation of the foundation of the Organisation of Africa Unity, now AU.
Commending President Nyusi, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin said unity of purpose among African countries holds the key to propelling the continent to a greater height.
