The newly elected members and government appointees of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) have been inaugurated for a four-year tenure to advance local development and governance.
In all, 28 out of the 30 members which consist of 20 elected and 10 appointees, were sworn in.
Justice Susana Aduffo, a Justice of the High Court, administered the oath of secrecy and allegiance oath to the members.
Madam Juana Frances Addah was absent, while some Assembly Members objected to the appointment of Mr Henry Plange who is the Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) at the AMA and is on terminal leave.
The new AMA was created pursuant to Section (3) of the Local Governance Act, 2016 (936) following the successful conduct of the district-level elections on December 17, 2019.
President Akufo-Addo in a speech read on his behalf by the Former Chief Justice and Council of State member, Hon Justice Theodora Wood, highlighted the selfless role Assembly members had to play in ensuring accountable stewardship and articulating the needs of their electorates and implementing government programmes.
He called on the members to build positive working relationships with their colleagues, Chief Executive, Members of Parliament, Staff of the Assembly, and the people they represent.
“You should also establish strong partnerships and collaborate with the local structures particularly, the urban, town, zonal and area council, the unit committees and traditional authorities as well as other identifiable groups to facilitate the work of the District Assembly. As a first step, the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, through the OHLGS, will in the next few weeks organise your orientation and training to enable you to appreciate the expected roles and responsibilities,” he added.
He stressed the importance of good governance and active citizen participation in the development process and encouraged the members to create platforms for citizen engagement, such as town hall meetings and community durbar, as well as deploy digitalized tools to enhance the relationship between duty bearers and citizens.
He congratulated all elected assemblies and highlighted the constitutional mandate to promote decentralisation and citizen participation in governance, emphasising the critical role of assemblies in bringing government closer to the people.
The Mayor of Accra, Hon Elizabeth Kwatsoe Sackey in a welcome address reminded the newly elected members of the trust and confidence reposed in them by their electorate urging them to uphold dedication in fulfilling their duties.
Mayor Sackey expressed her appreciation to her predecessors and emphasized the critical areas of environmental sanitation, revenue mobilization, and stakeholder engagement as key focus areas for the assembly, to improve the quality of life for the electorates and foster sustainable development in the communities.
The first female Mayor of Accra also stressed the need for the members to familiarize themselves with the duties and responsibilities outlined in the Local Governance Act 2016, Act 936, as well as other related legislative instruments and the Constitution to discharge their duties diligently.
The election of the Presiding Member of the Assembly was postponed to next week due to their inability to meet the required two-thirds threshold.
