What do assemblies do?

Since the inception of the district assembly concept and the decentralisation process, the expectation of many people has been that the assemblies would serve as catalysts  for change at the grass roots level and improve the lives of the people.

This expectation is not misplaced because the assemblies were created as the pivot of administrative and developmental decision-making in the district and the basic unit of governance

Added to this, they are assigned deliberative, legislative as well as executive functions. In effect they have been constituted as the planning authority for the district.    

With what we see in our communities now, it looks like we are only marking time if not reversing.  Just cast your eyes around and look at the amount of filth that has engulfed our communities, the lack of public places of convenience, lack of access to potable water,  inaccessible roads as well as structures littered everywhere  without any plan or method.

Examples

A few examples would do here. At the exit to the ACP road on the main Achimota-Pokuase road is a crater that started as a pothole and  has been there for well over 10 years, yet nobody seems to care. Meanwhile, the crater poses danger to motorists as drivers are compelled to join the inner lane against routine driving protocol.

Even after one has managed to join the main road, just at the first U-turn, is even a bigger hole that keeps widening by the day. What makes it even sadder is that a policeman is stationed there to direct traffic and the danger that the poor man is exposed to can be anybody’s guess. Yet, it will not take more than two hours of work, a few buckets of bitumen and some chippings to seal those craters.

If seeing to the sealing of potholes is too much for an assembly, how about ensuring that the levels of noise in our communities are reduced to reasonable levels? There is nothing more frustrating than to return home after a hard day’s work to be denied of sleep by mushroom churches, beer bar operators and CD sellers, when you are aware that there are regulations on noise-making in the country.

Indiscipline and arbitrariness

Perhaps the impotence of the assemblies is not lost on people, hence the high level of indiscipline and arbitrariness. For instance at the Musuku  round-about near Kwabenya, a motorbike mechanic has cut off part of the road and turned it into a workshop without even a wink from the  assembly.

Over two years ago, a squatter in my neighbourhood had the effrontery to cut a portion of the access road to some houses including mine,  and has built a structure on that portion, which he uses as a drinking bar.

The bar has since gained notoriety as a haven for all sorts of characters. My reports  to the assembly has yielded no positive results and as I write,  the squatter is even expanding his facility, compelling us to meander  our vehicles through the narrow space that he has been kind enough to spare us.  It seems that the best the  assemblies do is to  go round marking some illegal structures with  the notice “ Remove by so and so date” and then that ends it. The marked structures continue to sit at the same place. Look around the communities and examples of this abound.

The question is:  What happens should there be an emergency that would require the movement of say a fire engine or an ambulance? Or if a like-minded person decides to set up a boutique or tailoring shop on the little space left? The only reason for doing this is he wants to make a living. But can we all do whatever we feel like because we want to make a living?

General situation

This kind of situation is not limited to one geographic area but common across the length and breadth of the country.

Sometimes it gets sickening reflecting on how our collective actions and inaction have made life so difficult for us. Even if an individual decides to do the right thing, it does not take long for him or her to realise that the odds are against him. Does one now turn oneself into a road contractor and start filling the potholes? Should I go about removing  the illegal structures in the neighbourhood? Does one go from church to church seizing their noise-making instruments? Certainly not! Not everybody is mandated and also equipped for these jobs. 

I do not expect the President or his vice to come down and start filling the potholes in my area but I expect state institutions that have been so mandated to be up and doing. 

Clearly, the usual refrain about lack of resources and shortage of staff will not wash because in the face of these challenges, assembly workers still march to the banks at the end of every month to take their salaries. 

It may be true that some assemblies may be living up to their mandate but  generally, looking at all the chaos in our communities, I cannot help but wonder : What do  our assemblies  do?

Writer’s email: doreen.hammond@graphic.com.gh