A former Deputy General-Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Obiri Boahen, has said Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) should be elected for the nation to tackle the problem of underdevelopment at the local level.
The election of the MMDCEs will not only strengthen the local government system but also further provide a louder voice to the local level in the decision making process, and thereby facilitate accelerated development in communities.
Nana Boahen said he strongly believed in the NPP’s Election 2024 flag bearer, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, and expressed the hope that his government would therefore make it a reality in the country.
"I will highly be disappointed if Dr Bawumia's government fails to make this vision a reality in the first term of office, the former NPP Deputy General-Secretary, and a legal practitioner told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Sunyani.
"If the masses are given the chance to elect them, the MMDCEs will be more accountable and they will not have the chance to take them for granted and do what they like as some are doing at the local level," he stated.
Nana Boahen said it was rather unfortunate that some Ghanaians and ambitious politicians continued to engage in partisan politics in issues of national development because of their selfish and personal interests.
Nana Boahen said he was worried that Ghana had come far in her democratic processes, from 1992 to 2024, yet the nation was still lagging in development, saying "until we allow national interest to override or supersede our personal or ambitious gains we can't develop as anticipated."
Describing the Vice-President, Dr Bawumia, the NPP 2024 flag bearer, as a credible and "good material", the former NPP scribe said everybody had his or her choice of political party, "we must understand each other, build consensus and rally behind Dr Bawumia because his vision for the nation is great."
"A visionary and credible leader with integrity endeavours to bring people together, irrespective of their religious differences and that is exactly what the Vice-President is doing now.
For the purposes of development, let's try and bury our political inclinations and orientations for the next NPP government of Dr Bawumia to bring the development of the nation to the next level," he stated.