La Nkwantanang/Madina Assembly inaugurates 2 Councils

The La Nkwantanang-Madina Municipal Assembly has inaugurated the Madina and Oyarifa Zonal Councils and elected chairpersons for them at brief ceremonies held last Thursday.

Each Zonal Council was made up of 15 members, comprising the elected Assembly Members and Unit Committee Members in accordance with the Local Governance Act (Act 936) and Local Government (Urban, Zonal and Town Council and Unit Committees) Establishment Instrument 2010, Legislative Instrument 1967.

The elected chairmen for the Madina Zonal Council and the Oyarifa Zonal Council were Nii Odai and Charles Tsuishitoo Kotei, respectively.

An officer from the La Nkwantanang-Madina Municipal Directorate of the Electoral Commission, Portia Boadu, conducted the elections. The members of the two zonal councils were also sworn in by the Magistrate of the Madina Magistrate Court Two, Susanna Nyarkotey.

Governance system

The La Nkwantanang-Madina Municipal Coordinating Director (MCD), Abena Kwesiwa Kyei, who is also the current caretaker of the assembly, represented by the Assistant Director One of the Assembly, Mama Setriakor, said an effective, efficient and vibrant zonal council plays a vital role in the country’s governance system by enhancing citizen participation in the decision-making process and policy formulation and implementation at the local level, thereby promoting inclusivity, transparency and accountability in governance.

That, she said, went a long way to foster the central government’s decentralisation agenda of bringing governance to the doorstep of the people.

The MCD enumerated some of the key functions of the Zonal Council, which included enumerating and keeping records of all rateable persons and properties in the Zonal Council. It also recommended to the municipal assembly the naming of all streets in its area of authority and the numbering of all buildings in the streets.

Furthermore, the council is responsible for revenue mobilisation, assisting in the collection of property rates, business licences and other local taxes to support the municipal assembly’s budget.

She stated that the councils were to ensure public education and awareness creation by educating the public on government policies, local laws and development initiatives.

Additionally, the zonal councils also exist to serve as a channel for relaying community needs and concerns to the municipal assembly for appropriate action.

Admonition

Ms Kwesiwa, the current head of the assembly, admonished the leadership of the zonal councils inaugurated to work assiduously to help the assembly achieve its set objectives.

She assured them that the doors of the assembly were always open for deliberations that would be geared towards the development of the assembly.

In his acceptance speech, Mr Kotei thanked the assembly for the confidence reposed in them as zonal council members to serve under the assembly.

He assured that each of them will be committed to contributing to the success of the zonal council and the assembly as a whole.

“As we move forward, I want to emphasise the importance of all of us who have been selected as members of the zonal council in participating fully in all our deliberations.

Every voice matters and I believe that together we can create an environment where all opinions are valued and respected.

I will also encourage each of us to share our thoughts and ideas as it is through collaboration that we will achieve our common goals,” Mr Kotei said.