The national Dean of Presiding members, Joseph Korto, has urged government to provide legal education for assembly members across the country for them to have a more competent understanding of basic laws to provide effective leadership.
He also called for a national dialogue on local governance and decentralization reforms after the 2020 elections.
“Many areas in the sector need reforms and could only be achieved through consensus and cooperation.”
Mr Korto who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Kumasi soon after his unanimous election as the new National Dean of Presiding Members for the next two years pledged to engage stakeholders to strengthen the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies across the country.
He also promised to whip up enthusiasm among members to take up responsible programmes that would empower their respective Assemblies.
The Low cost Assembly member of Tema community nine (9), who is also the Dean of presiding members of the Greater Accra Region and the longest serving Assembly member in the country said “It is a known fact that newly elected Assembly members are often given training on the Local Governance system but that is not enough.
“Assembly members’ understanding of the 1992 constitution, the criminal offences Acts and other laws should be sharpened to provide quality leadership in their respective electoral areas and perform above par as board members of their districts.
“I am not saying that the Assembly member should be trained to become a professional legal practitioner, the point I want to put across here is that, the electorate often pester the Assembly member with criminal and civil cases for solutions and it is important for him or her to have some legal education in order not to mislead people into prison as not everyone can afford the services of a lawyer” Mr. Korto concluded.
