Scare of disapproval has gotten the better of some Municipal and District Chief Executive nominees looking up to assembly members to endorse their nominations as only 1, out of the 5 presented so far for confirmation, has received a convincing approval.
Emmanuel Asore Avoka, the nominee for the Garu-Tempane District, obtained a satisfying 36 votes out of the 43 ballots cast Tuesday to become the fifth DCE for the area. Although Agnes Anamoo also sailed through at Nabdam on Monday, she did so by a hair’s breadth. She needed 13 of the 19 votes for the taking and managed to get just the required number- 13 ballots- to earn her new status as the chief executive for the district.
Wednesday saw Clement Dandori “overwhelmingly rejected” by a record 28 assembly members in the Kassena-Nankana West District. He needed 41 votes but got 34 ballots in an exercise carried out by 62 assembly members. It was also a bad day for William Aduum who needed 34 votes in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality but polled 33 out of the 50 votes cast. It all started ominously at Talensi on Monday with the nominee, Christopher Boabil Somiteyen, looking for 20 votes out of some 30 ballots cast but captured 19- just one count behind the cutoff mark.
The latest development seen Wednesday afternoon in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality is reported to have sparked a great anxiety among the rest of the nominees who are waiting in the queue for their fate in the region. There is a groundswell of calls from influential members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) for government appointees, suspected to be partly responsible for the first-round rejection suffered by the disappointed designees, to be dismissed and replaced before the second round, which is also the last chance, is due in 10 days.
More Roadblocks Ahead
Some decision makers within the NPP had disclosed to Starr News before the start of the ongoing confirmation process in the region that they would see to it that government appointees were relieved of their positions if they proved to be obstacles in the way of the nominees.
Information gathered after the twin shock that struck Kassenas and Nankanas Wednesday is pointing at more ‘roadblocks’ ahead- specifically in the Builsa North, the Bawku West and, surprisingly, the Bongo District.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Rockson Bukari, has had a disappointing half of the week as his tour gets sour. In the beginning at Talensi, then later at the Kassena-Nankana West, the minister had strongly condemned the failure of assembly members to endorse the nominees. But he sounded exhausted after the nominee for the Kassena-Nankana Municipality, despite pleas for his confirmation, still was rejected.
A fatigued-looking minister, whose comments had been characterised by a thunderous tone to assembly members following the disappointing outcomes at the Talensi and the Kassena-Nankana West District Assemblies, kept his voice down, and his remarks unusually so brief, as he addressed members of the Kassena-Nankana Municipal Assembly after Wednesday’s outcome.
“Well, you have exercised your democratic right. We need to work hard so that we put our leadership in place. Since he (the nominee) has qualified for the next 10 days, I hope that the next time, assembly members would rise against colourisation and endorse him,” the minister said, with a streak of stress on his face.
Despite the failure to approve the nominee, the Kassena-Nankana Municipality still had some good news to take home. The area, which had been without a Presiding Member since 2009, was able to produce one Wednesday. A first round of the contest between Joseph Adongo and Peter Akanzum saw the former clinch 32 votes and the latter 18 votes. The pair went into a second round after Mr. Adongo had failed to obtain the needed 34 votes. Mr. Adongo, after a second round that gave him 36 votes, became the Presiding Member, beating Mr. Akanzum who had 14 votes.
Wasted Cash, Food and Drinks
The air is saturated with reports that assembly members have received some financial packages in a cash-for-vote deal with nominees ahead of the confirmation sittings.
All nominees who have gone through the confirmation process were optimistic about their chances. A number of them had even arranged for drinks and food in abundance, waiting for their confirmation, only to have the same assembly members, who reportedly accepted their cash, crush their hopes.
One of the nominees, who did not trust that all the assembly members would vote for him, was said to have divided the amount of money he had intended to give each of them into two halves. He planned to give a half to each person before the confirmation and would only release the rest of the cash if he was eventually endorsed.
But he cancelled that idea after a veteran politician warned it would amount to an insult to the assembly members and would also provoke them to vote against him. He released the full cash to each person and arranged for a big party ahead of the confirmation. But he was rejected.
With 8 municipalities and districts still to have their confirmation, nominees, having drawn lessons from the disappointments seen so far, are taking unavoidable risks with great caution to achieve their desired ends.
The areas left include Pusiga District and Bawku West District (Thursday 11th May), Builsa South and Builsa North Districts (Friday 12th May), Bolgatanga Municipality and Bongo District (Tuesday 16th May) and Bawku Municipality and Binduri (Wednesday 17th May).
“Assembly members are the most powerful people, and the most dangerous, too,” said an observer Wednesday. “They take your cash and still have the conscience to vote against you. Then, they come to eat the food you have prepared, consume the drinks you have bought and still laugh with you.”