Members of the Former Assembly Members Association (FAMA) of the Ga West Municipal Assembly at Amasaman in Ghana’s Greater Accra Region, have appealed to the Municipal Authorities to endeavour to tap their knowledge and expertise for development.
“Tap on the knowledge and experiences of our members at any time through the Association for the development of our Municipality,” Mr. Godfried Kudzo Akpanya, a former Assembly Member of the Trobu Electoral Area, made the call on behalf of the Ga West branch of FAMA.
The Trobu Electoral Area was formerly under the Ga West Municipal Assembly but currently under the Ga North Municipal Assembly at Ofankor.
Speaking at a maiden meeting of the branch at Amasaman on November 25, Mr. Akpanya, who is the brain behind the formation of the Association and Convener of the meeting, said there was the need to tap from former Assembly Members because “An assembly member had several trainings, attended several workshops, participated in several seminars not forgetting annual new year school and conferences.”
These trainings, he noted, had empowered them to perform their roles effectively as defined in section 10 of the Local Governance act, 2016 act 936.
Mr. Akpanya said, “Tapping into the rich experiences of former Assembly Members will enhance continuity in the development of our country, and this is part of the many objectives of the formation of this Association.”
In order to achieve the purpose of the formation of the Association, he appealed to the Ga West Municipal Assembly through the Chief Executive, Hon. Clement Nii Lante Wilkison, to assist with an office space for the Association’s activities.
He also made a passionate appeal to the Municipal Chief Executive, to assist the convener to reach out to other Municipalities across the country as the second best performing MCE in Ghana for the year 2021 and urged him to continue with the welfare supports for members of the Association.
Sharing other objectives of the Association, Mr. Akpanya said the idea of spearheading of bringing together of all former elected Assembly Members arose from patriotism “as I see the wheels of development being reinvented after every election whenever another individual is given the mandate to lead the electorates.”
“Today marks another milestone in our Municipality (Ga West) and the nation as a whole as we make the effort to close a gap that has existed since inception of this wonderful concept of taking democracy to the door steps of the citizenry known as the district assembly concept,” he noted.
He pointed out that bringing Assembly Members together had no political motive or agenda, but rather, it was to harness their experiences for the continuous development of our country.
“We all know much about the hostile relationship between successors and predecessors as far as continuity in our governance system is concerned, however, it is a common knowledge that someone who had the opportunity before the other might have ideas to share with the one coming to take up the job but due to fear of the unknown, things continue to fall apart as the center cannot hold and to safeguard this, any member of the Association holding political party position shall not be allowed to hold office with the Association,” he noted.
“The Association of former Assembly Members has come to stay with the maiden meeting of the Ga West branch, currently being used as the center,” he said, adding, Ashanti Region was currently putting together their structure and in due course and I will be visiting them for their maiden meeting which will be at the regional level.
In this regard, he appealed to members in the other Regions to start mobilising to pave way for scheduling of maiden meetings accordingly. Mr. Akpanya said appointment of interim executives at the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies was to see to the day to activities of the Association.
“Therefore, I encourage those to be appointed to take their positions seriously by maintaining good working relationship with their assembly,” he stated.
He lamented that former Assembly Members lacked social support to lean on after serving their electorates as the conditions of some had deteriorated making ends meet becoming a challenge.
He, therefore, appealed to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to take a second look at the conditions of former Assembly Members.
“I will like to salute Hon. Clement Nii Lante Wilkison, the MCE for this Assembly who last year responded to my call by supplying assorted Christmas items for distribution to fifty former Assembly Members of this branch.
In addition, he hosted us to a Christmas party with the current Assembly Members and also paid for the transportation of members, a gesture Mr. Akpanya said had contributed to the MCE’s best performances at national and regional level respectively.
In a remark, Hon. Wilkison applauded Mr. Akpanya for the initiative of forming the Association and pledged his unflinching support.
Attended by 17 former Assembly Members, Hon. William Anyidoho was unanimously appointed as the Association’s interim Chairman, with an aim to lead the team to put up the necessary structure within three months towards a formal launch.
Nii Kortei Boi II, the Ofankor Mantse, who chaired the maiden meeting, encouraged members to work hard to make the dream a reality.
As a former Presiding Member of the Ga West Municipal Assembly before the creation of the Ga North Municipal Assembly, he also assured of supporting in the growth of the Association.
