Allow journalists to fully observe MMDAs General Assembly meetings
Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) have been called upon to allow journalists to fully observe General Assembly meetings.
Mr Jerry Sam, Director for Programmes for Penplusbyte, a non-governmental organization, who made the call, said the general practice of inviting journalists to only cover opening and closing ceremonies of general assembly meetings was not the best.
Mr Sam said allowing them to fully observe the plenary would afford them the opportunity to get information on the plans and activities of the Assembly.
He made the call in Accra during a two-day maiden workshop for selected journalists on ‘reporting using new digital technologies to facilitate citizens engagement at local government level’, funded by the Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives.
He stated that just as reporters sit through Parliamentary proceedings, they must be allowed to be present at the General Assembly meetings since the assembly concept was a replica of parliament.
That, he noted, would be the only way for reporters to be well informed on the operations of the Assembly and thus be in a better position to properly inform and educate residents.
He said for decentralization to fully work in Ghana as it was intended, there was the need for MMDAs to be autonomous just their counterparts in Germany and other Western countries.
The Penplusbyte Director for Programme added that it was about time that the Coordinating Directors of the 216 MMDAs were empowered to make decisions without approval from their chief executives
He explained that whereas the Coordinating Directors were public servants employed based on their expertise, chief executive officers were appointees of the President and therefore mostly concentrate on their political party interests instead of the most pressing needs of their communities.
Mr Sam took participants through Ashaiman Municipal Assembly’s (ASHMA) four-year mid-term plans, annual action plan, and sources of funding.
He also introduced the journalists to Penplusbyte’s platform opengov.org.gh/ashaiman, which is intended to provide residents with the needed information on the Assembly’s budget, funding and project.
The platform gave residents the opportunity to interact with officials of the ASHMA to report issues while it served as a feedback channel to the Assembly.
Mr Cosmos Kwame Akorli, Penplusbyte Programme Manager, Governance and Technology, in a presentation, said all decentralization stakeholders including the media had important roles to play to ensure the effective operations of the MMDAs.
Mr Akorli said the media must use their platforms to set the agenda on developmental issues as well as mobilize communities to demand responsive local governance.
The media, he added, must promote dialogue among the various stakeholders and collaborate with other NGOs to promote development.
He further implored them to play their watchdog role on resources allocated to the Assembly and their usage.
GNA
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