Greater Accra Assembly Members Reject Mahama’s ‘Monthly Salary’ Promise
The Greater Accra Association of Assembly Members (GAAM) has rejected former President John Mahama’s offer to pay them monthly salary when given the nod in the 7th December general elections.
According to them, Mr. Mahama lacks the credibility to make promises, particularly to the Assembly members saying; “we have seen, tested, tried and felt the leadership of former President John Dramani Mahama and we are much convinced beyond every measure that he has nothing to offer Assembly members of this country”.
The Flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama has assured Assembly members that the next NDC administration will work closely with them to deepen their role in governance.
Mr. Mahama, in a Facebook Live, said “for providing the service our intention is to pay Assembly Members so that they can earn an income to be able to look after themselves.”
Addressing a press conference at GNAT Hall in Accra on Tuesday, 25th August, 2020, the association iterated; “We find his will to fulfill this promise not credible and his mode of approach not sustainable for his track record as a vice President and President respectively he abandoned us, we the assembly members, left us in the state of hopelessness and took us for granted.
“He left us with nothing more than broken hopes and hearts hence its surprising that this same Former President John Dramani Mahama is again making a promise to ensure the payment of monthly salaries to Assembly Members when he had the chance to do so but failed.”
Read full statement below:
PRESENTATION BY GREATER ACCRA ASSOCIATION OF ASSEMBLY MEMBERS-GAAM
CREATION OF NEW REGIONS, MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLIES, REMUNERATIONS OF ASSEMBLY MEMBERS
ladies and gentlemen of the Media, we, members of GAAM, will like our ex-President of the Republic who is a Presidential candidate of the NDC, John Dramani Mahama to come clear with his promise to ensure payment of services to Assembly Members when he is given the nod as President to manage the affairs of the state in 2021.
We find his will to fulfill this promise not credible and his mode of approach not sustainable for his track record as a vice President and President respectively he abandoned us, we the assembly members, left us in the state of hopelessness and took us for granted.
As the only head of state who had had the opportunity to serve in the capacity as an assembly member, most of us believed in his promise of paying Presiding Members and assembly members as stated,in page 93 of the NDC’s 2012 manifesto.
It appears all the promises he made under theme 4 of the manifesto with the heading or caption:
‘WE ARE DEEPENING DECENTRALIZATION AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE’ were not scams enough, we are particularly interested in what his manifesto said about remunerations for overseers of the assemblies as cited in paragraph 8 of this subject matter.
It states, “Implement the decision of the CRC-proposed Independent Emoluments Commission, to determine the remuneration of DCEs, Presiding Members and have these charged on the consolidated fund.”
This was stated black and white and we believed he could deliver on his promise because he had been in our position before who should understand the plight of the Assembly member.
He left us with nothing more than broken hopes and hearts hence its surprising that this same Former President John Dramani Mahama is again making a promise to ensure the payment of monthly salaries to Assembly Members when he had the chance to do so but failed.
Just to put in our local parlance “s3 kwatrekwa b3mawo ntoma aa, 3yaa tie no din”
In short, we have seen, tested, tried and felt the leadership of former President John Dramani Mahama and we are much convinced beyond every measure that he has nothing to offer Assembly members of this country.
Ladies and gentlemen, GAAM wishes to acknowledge and applaud His Excellency Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo for bringing governance to the doorstep of the ordinary Ghanaian through his massive and unprecedented decentralization of the local government system.
Through his visionary leadership, President Nana Addo has added 6 more regions to the 10 existing regions since independence till 2016.
He has further created 53 additional Municipal and District Assemblies; the largest of its kind initiated by any Head of State in the fourth republican dispensation during his four-year term.
In the Greater Accra Region, the President in a space of three years created 13 more municipalities in addition to the existing 16 he inherited as at January 2017, bringing it to a total of 29 MMDAs in the region.
This is a remarkable achievement and we are most grateful to President Nana Addo of the Republic of Ghana.
There has been enactment of new model standings for Assembly men.
Several workshops and orientation have been held to equip us for the task ahead.
The creation of new electoral areas has lessened the burden of assembly members with big electoral areas and huge populations. All these measures combined have given assembly members much more authority to execute our mandates in the various assemblies effectively for efficacy.
It must be stated that GAAM is very excited by the pronouncement made by the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Hajia Halima Mahama said that the government is considering allocating a certain percentage of the common fund to the District Assembly members for Developmental projects within our electoral areas.
This we find more feasible and practicable enough to bring us hope as assembly members. Therefore, it is not surprising that under her leadership as the local government Minister, construction of assembly office complexes for almost all the newly created assemblies has become a reality.
For proven track records of President Nana Addo, GAAM solidly supports President Nana Addo who is the Presidential Candidate of the NPP for emphatic victory in the December 2020 polls.
President Nana Addo has proven beyond every reasonable doubt that he is indeed a doer and action-oriented leader hence, the need to give him four years to do more for us.
We wish to appeal to the general public and other assembly members who are not part of this association to join our membership to have a well consolidated voice to ensure the achievement of the re-election of president Nana Addo to enable him to continue with his true leadership services he is rendering to the people of Ghana.
GAAM is confident about the fact that President Nana Addo is the right person at this material time to protect our progress as a nation through a radical transformation of this nation for the benefit of us all.
Friends from the media, we thank you for your attention.
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