Mahama Can’t Pay Assembly Members – Hajia Alima warns

Listen to this Article Now Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Isaac Newton Tetteh  – GITFIConline.com

August 05- Local Government and Rural Development Minister, Hajia Alima Mahama, is asking Assembly Members across the country not to give former President John Dramani Mahama a listening ear over his promise to pay Assembly Members if he is reelected.

The Local Government and Rural Development Minister Hajia Alima Mahama made those remarks during a sod cutting ceremony at Nsukwuao in the New Juabeng South Municipality in Koforidua of the Eastern Region of Ghana

Ahjia Mahama stated that former president John Mahama’s promise to pay assembly members was captured in the National  Democratic Congress (NDC) 2012 election  manifesto  but he didn’t do anything about it after he won power saying, Mr.Mahama have no argument against the bravest performance in decentralization and local development, so he was  promising ‘rooftop promises’ that he  cannot fulfill.

She added that “Mr Mahama was not able to pay assembly members about 10,000 in number, nurses and teachers allowances were also not paid so would he be able to  put the over 10,000 assembly members on the Subvented category now she asked?

He knows it is impossible, the real situation is that the way the decentralization scheme has been designed, Assembly Members are like board members of the assembly and are not a full-time employees

The Local Government Minister implored the Assembly Members to see the  former President’s  claims as political talks since he is not capable of delivering on any matter.

Background

The flagbearer of the NDC, Mr. John Dramani Mahama, some few weeks  ago while addressing a meeting with the Ghana Association of Assembly Members (GAAM) in his office in Accra, assured assembly members that the next NDC administration will work closely with them to deepen their roles in governance.

He added that, as the first point of contact for the resolution of many issues in their respective electoral areas, assembly members require support from the government to enable them effectively discharge their enormous responsibilities.

“I understand the former President, John Mahama met with the (GAAM) which is not an official association of assembly members to start with and he promised that when he wins  he was going to pay assembly members a monthly allowance or salary”.

The Minister further explained that the association that he met tried to organize when he was the President and they were prevented because they were told that there was a recognized body called National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana(NALAG) .

According to her President, Nana Akufo-Addo is much concerned about the situation of assembly members in the country and was of the view that they will do everything possible to seek to the welfare of Assembly Members in the country.