Atta Mills’ administration will re-demarcate districts

A Prof. John Evans Atta Mills-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) has served notice that it would tidy up what it brands” the mess created by New Patriotic Party(NPP)” by re-demarcating the boundaries of the existing districts as a measure of deepening the process of decentralization and extending the frontiers of local government.
According to the NDC, the two re-demarcation exercises undertaken by the NPP Government in 2003 and 2007/2008 appeared not to have followed any accepted principles of re-demarcation of district boundaries. “The present exercise is more one of political and electoral gerrymandering than deepening democracy,” the party said.
These plans are contained in the NDC 2008 manifesto under the theme’ Transparent and Accountable Governance’ and are part of its ‘Local Government and Decentralization’ programme.
The NDC claimed that under the NPP, “the representation ratio designed to be achieved was not made known and neither has the ultimate number of districts sought to be created been made known”. The party adds, “Some of the re-demarcations fly in the face of the demarcations principles laid down in the Local Government Act, 1993, Act 462, and the resultant sub-district structures have not been properly re-aligned between the old and the new districts.”
To fix these problems, the NDC says they will re-demarcate the existing districts using objective, scientific and planning criteria to determine how many districts ought to be created and which ones.
In a similar vein, the NDC chastises the NPP for its alleged ineptitude in the handling of the Sub-Metropolitan District Councils (SMDCs) as the first district level structures in the Metropolitan Assembly system. “Three Legislative Instruments Amendments passed by Parliament in 2004 designed to change the composition, structure and functions of the SMDCs have proved so confusing that four years after their passage, it has not been possible to implement them.”
The party further observes that Legislative Instruments for Cape Coast, Tamale and Tema Metropolitan Assemblies that gave those assemblies a composition, structure and functions different from those of the previous three Metropolitan Assemblies of Accra, Kumasi and Shama- Ahanta East. The NDC says if it assumes the realms of power, “it will revisit the SMDCs and review their enabling Legislative Instruments to ensure their workability and consistency.”
Additionally, the NDC mocks the NPP for reneging on its manifesto promise to elect District Chief Executives and thus depart for the NDC arrangement of appointing them. “ That they have found it ‘ wise’ not to change the Constitutional procedure for the appointment of DCEs for nearly eight years they have been in power means clearly that the present system has merit.” The NDC promises to stick to the status quo while taking steps to deal with the identified weaknesses and abuses associated with it.
The party further claims that its understanding of decentralization appears to be different from that of the NPP in that while the NDC implemented a policy of “devolution” of power while it was in office , the NPP’s style has been one of “de-concentration”.
It observes, “Government has had laws passed that have had the effect of recentralizing instead of decentralizing public administration. In some cases, the laws have rolled back progress made under the NDC Government in the decentralization programme”.
It assures that an NDC administration will organize a broad national Stakeholders Conference on Decentralization which will not only look at the conceptual issue, but will also review the 20 years of decentralization implementation (1988-2008) and make proposals on the way forward.
The NDC says notwithstanding the proposed Conference, it will take certain specific measures to accelerate decentralization once in power. And these include the reviewing of the Local Government Service Act, 2003, Act 656 to be harmony with Local Government Act, 1993, Act 462; the discontinuing of the practice of issuing of guidelines by the Ministry of Local Government to the District Assemblies for the utilization of the District Assembly Common Fund; the reviewing of the Public Procurement Act and the Internal Audit Agency Act.