He said when they are chosen by the locals, activities at the local level would be regulated and appointees would be answerable to the people.

Prophet Dr Okyere said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday.

He said the practice has been adopted in many African countries including Kenya, Uganda and Namibia and has been considered as international best practice which was aimed at deepening local democracy through popular participation in governance.

Prophet Dr Okyere said allowing the citizens to elect their own mayors as well as local chairpersons has been long overdue and that locals should be given the opportunity to elect their own leaders.

He said the election of the MMDCEs would also would spur them to work very hard since anything short of development would let them lose their jobs in four years time.

He commended the New Patriotic Party government for the initiative and urged Ghanaians to participate in the Referendum scheduled for December 17.

Prophet Dr Okyere also appealed to government to make public the Ayawaso West Wuogon election violence report and punish the culprits to serve as deterrent to others.

He also called on government to provide adequate security for the upcoming elections to enable more people to exercise their franchise.