CREDIBILITY OF CDD'S DISTRICTS LEAGUE TABLE QUESTIONED
There have been
mixed reactions among Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives
about the ranking of the performance of Metropolitan, Municipal and District
Assemblies.
Released by the Centre for Democratic Development, Ghana, CDD, a
civil society organization in partnership with UNICEF. The CDD and its partner
conducted a performance evaluation of all the 216 MMDAs in 2012 to ascertain
their level of responsiveness to the expectations and needs of the ordinary
people.
At the launch of the Ashanti region performance league of the 30 MMDAs
in Kumasi, while some of the MMDCEs questioned the fairness and objectivity of
the methodology used by CDD in carrying out the assessment whiles others
expressed satisfaction with the project. T
he Social Policy Advisor and Planning
Specialist of UNICEF-Ghana, Charles Dzradosi, explained that the project
organizers relied on only secondary data available at the national offices of
the sectors used as the indicators for the evaluation without going to the
MMDAs to confirm the data.
He conceded also that assessment of the performance
of the recently created MMDAs was based on the data relating to their parent
MMDAs before they were carved out.
According to Mr. Dzradosi, these, notwithstanding,
the outcome of the evaluation project has been fair and objective and should
give the MMDAs a fair view of their performance.
The DCE for Sekyere Afram
Plains, Fuseini Donkor, said at the time the project took place, his district which
was created in June 2012, was still part of the Kumawu Afram Plains district
for which reason it is unfair for data and performance of that district to be
used to assess Sekyere Afram Plains.
Sekyere Afram Plains district has been
ranked 214th on the Districts League Table out of the 216 MMDAs in
Ghana.
On his part, the Kwabre East District Chief Executive, Adams Iddisah,
whose district has been ranked as the second best performing MMDA in the
Ashanti region, described the project as fair and objective considering the
performance of the district currently. Eight MMDAs in the Ashanti region ranked
among the best 20 performing districts in Ghana.
In a remark, the Ashanti Regional
Minister, Dr. Samuel Sarpong said the MMDAs constitute the highest political,
legislative, budgeting and planning authority making them important development
agents in the, decentralization of Ghana.
He therefore described the Districts
League Table as an important initiative.
Dr. Sarpong however asked for
fairness, objectivity and a non-partisan approach to such an exercise.
Comments
Post a Comment