This blog is managed by the content creator and not GhanaWeb, its affiliates, or employees. Advertising on this blog requires a minimum of GH₵50 a week. Contact the blog owner with any queries.
The beleaguered dishonourable Member of Parliament (MP) for Effutu, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, showcased his ignorance of constitutional law in respect of local governance when he asserted at an event on Sunday, 5th January, 2025 that: “.. in the Effutu constituency, we (NPP) are the government. In Effutu, the NPP is the government because all the Assembly seats are for the NPP. We have the Presiding Member, and I want to tell the NDC that we are not ready to change this NPP government in Effutu. So, we are going to work together, and they shouldn’t bother nominating an MCE. It won’t happen. We control Effutu … no way, no way”.
One wonders whether Afenyo-Markin ever sat in class one.
Section 8(2) of the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936) stipulates that: “A political party shall not endorse, sponsor, offer a platform to or in any way campaign for or against a candidate who seeks election to a District Assembly or any lower local government unit”.
In addition, section 8(4) states that: “A political party that contravenes subsection (2) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than one hundred penalty units and not more than two hundred and fifty penalty units”.
Does one require the Supreme Court to interpret this plain and ordinary English? You and I are capable of understanding this, but definitely not the empty head Afenyo-Markin.
So Afenyo-Markin took part in the debate of the bill leading up to the passage of this law, since he was a Member of Parliament at that time?
The mandate of the NPP Assembly Members should be revoked immediately and fresh elections held. The NPP Assembly Members exposed by the power-drunk Afenyo-Markin should be barred from contesting the fresh elections.
Section 10(2) of the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936) spells out the procedure to revoke the mandate of the NPP Assembly Members. The section provides that: “For the purpose of revoking the mandate of an elected member, twenty-five per cent or more of the registered voters in the electoral area may petition the Electoral Commission for a recall of that member from the District Assembly”.
I expect the cry baby Afenyo-Markin to sneak to the Supreme Court for an injunction and interpretation, since this is his area of specialization.
Didn’t some of the NPP MPs abandon Prof. Mike Oquaye (NPP candidate) to support the candidature of Rt. Hon. A. S. K. Bagbin (NDC candidate) in 2021 for the Speaker’s position? Afenyo-Markin has really got a very short memory!!
I wish to use this medium to appeal to His Excellency, John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana (whether Afenyo likes it or not), to set up a committee to investigate how the entire Common Fund of the Effutu Municipal Assembly (both the MP and the Assembly’s components), have been applied since 2017.
Furthermore, the committee should also look into the procurement processes leading up to the award of all contracts by Afenyo-Markin (the MP Common Fund), and the Effutu Municipal Assembly.
Most of the buildings put up in the Effutu Municipality (police stations, community centers, classrooms, etc) and other projects such as roads, are shoddy works. The roads are wiped away with the least rain, and most of the buildings leak as if they had no roofs with the slightest rain.
Dr. Alhassan Salifu Bawah
(unfazed son of the upright peasant farmer)
