Agona West Assembly fails to elect Presiding Member

The Agona West Municipal Assembly has failed to elect a Presiding Member (PM) after two rounds of voting. At the close of nominations, only the incumbent, Mr Haruna Nuhu Saani, had picked nomination form for the election, which was supervised by the Municipal Electoral Officer, Mr Kwame Amoah.

Before voting began, there arose a misunderstanding among some of the assembly members concerning the eligibility of the government appointees to vote as the aggrieved members argued that their tenure of office had expired.

The matter was,however, resolved by the Co-ordinating Director, Mr Peter Antwi Boasiako, who chaired the function, paving the way for the elections.

At the end of the first voting, 28 voted Yes, nine voted No, while three ballots were rejected.

Per the District Assemblies Regualtions, the PM is supposed to secure two-thirds of the votes, so a second voting became necessary, in which 29 voted Yes, and 12 voted No, with one ballot being rejected.

Since the assembly had  44 members, the PM was supposed to secure 30 votes, representing two-thirds majority of its total membership.

However, the incumbent was appointed to preside over the meeting.

Delivering his address, the Agona West Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Samuel Oppong, said the assembly estimated to collect GH¢863,350 as revenue for the year but as of August 31, 2013, it had collected GH¢607,834.64, representing 70.4 per cent.

According to him, out of the revenue collected, the assembly had spent GH¢531,333.02, leaving a surplus balance of GH¢76,501.02.

He assured assembly members that the assembly would sustain prudent management of the assembly’s resources.

He noted that during recess, the assembly received  GH¢29,485.12 as the third and fourth quarter shares of the Common Fund meant for people with disabilities.

Mr Oppong added that under the Urban Development Grant (UDG) projects, the assembly provided storm drains (50 per cent complete), 120 streets lights,  four open market sheds at the Mandela market, as well as eight culverts, all at Agona Swedru, which are 80 per cent complete.

By Gilbert Mawuli Agbey/Daily Graphic/Ghana