Rex Asanga, the Bolgatanga Municipal Chief Executive is unable to wrap his head around the Municipal Assembly’s failure to elect a Presiding Member.
In about 8 attempts, the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly has failed to elect a Presiding Member. Information reaching this website suggests that at a recent election, even after one of the contenders agreed to step down, the other Assemblymember could still not garner the two-thirds expected to elect a Presiding Member.
In a recent interview on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East, the Assemblymember for the Yorogo Electoral Area, Daniel Awine explained that it may continue to be difficult for the Assembly to elect a PM.
“The assemblyman should not be partisan. The concept of an assemblyman is getting someone to represent you as a community on a non-partisan basis. But you know, we are in a society where we eat with politics and wine and dine with politics.”
“We have allowed politics to eat too much into our system. That is why we think that if ‘A’ would not get it, ‘B’ would not also get it. There has not been a fertile ground for us to compromise.”
“If somebody says no [there is no politics in the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly] it should be a lie. I even want to believe that across the country, such issues are there. Bolgatanga is not an exception,” he said.
The frustration of the MCE, Rex Asanga could not be hidden when he spoke to A1 Radio’s Mark Smith, Tuesday, December 13, 2022.
“It is a worry to us. That is why we keep putting it on the agenda. Ever since we started this, each time the Assembly is meeting, we put it on the agenda. We thought this time that we were going to have a breakthrough because there were all the signs. I keep talking to both sides for us to come out with a compromise and that we cannot continue doing this partisan thing. I was very happy when, after the first round, Honourable Augustine stepped down. We thought it was a done deal but not knowing, it was to be politically decided. I do not know what exactly the PM’s position is. I don’t know; is it political victory that we are looking at? Other than that, I don’t just understand. I am really at a loss. So yes, here we are again.”
Mr. Asanga explained that should this continue, the current Assembly session could come to an end without the successful election of a PM. While agreeing the the election of Assemblymembers are expected to be non-political, “once they enter, they represent their parties. That is what I see.”
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
