A two-day orientation course for 50 Assembly Members in the Sunyani Municipality ended in Sunyani at the weekend.
It was organised jointly by the Ministry of Local Government and the Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS), and funded by the
government.
Mr Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh, NPP MP for Sunyani East participated in the workshop, which was aimed at equipping the Assembly Members,
especially the new ones to them to effectively undertake their duties and responsibilities.
A six-member team of resource persons, led by Dr. Callistus Mahama, Deputy Director of ILGS, took the participants through a number of topics within the District Assembly Concept.
The areas included the Local Government System of Administration, with emphasis on the functions of the Regional and District Coordinating Councils, functions of the District Assembly, functions of Urban/Town/Zonal/Area Councils, functions of Unit Committees and
the Structure of District Assembly.
The participants also learnt about the various committees operative in the Assembly, with special emphasis on the Executive Committee and the Public Relations and Complaints Committee.
Dr. Mahama noted with regret that more than three-quarters of most Assemblies had no public relations and complaints committees, thus making the performance of such Assemblies to fall short of the desired impact on the people.
He therefore urged the Sunyani Municipal Assembly to take note of the importance role the Public Relations and Complaints Committee played in the District Assembly Concept, under the 1992 Constitution, and endeavour to constitute one.
Dr. Mahama had earlier explained to the Ghana News Agency that, the team had been assigned to give similar orientation courses for all the 8000 Assembly Members in the 170 District Assemblies nation-wide.
He said the nation-wide tour was expected to end by the middle of June, this year. He said Sunyani was the team’s second point of call
after Kumasi.
A newly-elected Assembly Member, in an interview with the GNA expressed his appreciation to the organizing body as well as the resource persons.
“At least I have learnt something from the short orientation programme and I know it will help me a lot as a beginner at the Assembly.
“I pray that sanity prevails, regarding the tussle and hullabaloo that has associated the election of a Presiding Member for the Assembly, so that some of us can benefit from the rich experience of the re-elected members to advance the Assembly’s developmental programmes.
“Some of us see our election as the best platform to contribute our quota to the Assembly’s plans of translating its socio-economic
programmes, to improve the living conditions of the people”, he added.