The consensus of the more than 100 participants was that, whereas the appointees enter Assemblies on the wings of various interests, trade and professional groups, they hardly reflected the interest of those groups in deliberations.
Participants, made up of Ho Municipal Assembly Members, government officials, traditional authorities, civil society organisations among others, also noticed that, while groups the government appointees represent, input into deliberations leading to their selection, they were not consulted.
The Ho Municipal Assembly has 29 elected and 14 appointed members.
Other issues discussed include Assembly-Member- Community interrelations, thought to be on the low side because of cost, as Assembly Members draw no pay.
The forum was under the auspices of Community Development Concern (CDC) as part of the Local Government Capacity Support Project.
Joycelyn Akorfa Ochlich, Executive Director of CDC, urged participants to study development reports and processes to enable them contribute to issues of the Assembly.
She said SEPA forums are learning platforms for citizen groups, “where they are educated on the processes of good governance, participatory planning, budgeting, procurement, expenditure, taxation, leadership and social accountability among others”.
Ms Ochlich said Town Hall meetings “on the other hand, creates opportunities for citizens to express their concerns and ask relevant questions directly to duty bearers…”
Mr Emmanuel Ametsi, Programme Officer of CDC took participants through processes and responsibilities of leaders and those being led.
Source: GNA/News Ghana
