Metropolitan and District Chief Executives (MDCEs) have been warned not to allow their Personal Assistants (PAs) to approve documents on the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) and not to represent you at official meetings.
“PAs are not to write your official speeches and not to represent you at official meetings.
“Their role is strictly to help you organise your schedules, manage your time, and provide administrative support,” Madam Linda Ocloo, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, gave the warning in Accra at a media engagement.
The encounter is dubbed “Time with the Media”, to brief the public on activities being undertaken in the Region.
It forms part of the government’s “Reset Agenda”, where government officials and agencies are expected to meet the press to provide updates on their stewardship.
She said, “No MMDCE is to attend any Regional Coordinating Council meeting with their PAs. This practice ends now. If it continues, the individuals involved will face serious consequences.”
Madam Ocloo advised the MDCEs to desist from such acts, saying, “Assemblies cannot be run by unelected, unappointed individuals hiding behind your authority.”
He said, “I have reports that many of you have turned your official offices into party meeting grounds, filling them with party officials and visitors, while your staff, the very people you are supposed to lead, are denied access to discuss official matters.”
That, he stated, was an abuse of office, and he described the situation as unacceptable.
Touching on the environment, she served a notice that the RCC, working with the relevant agencies, would continue to embark on demolishing exercises at the Ramsar site to stop the illegal developments that choked the wetlands and worsened the flooding situation.
“The reckless encroachment and destruction of environmentally sensitive areas like the Ramser site and Laloi Lagoon must stop,” she said.
The Minister said the equally alarming issue was the filling of materials into the Laloi Lagoon in the Ningo-Prampram District.
“Let me be clear: this illegality must stop immediately. It is irresponsible, short-sighted, and a direct assault on environmental sustainability,” she warned.
The consequences of such actions, she stated, were devastating, leading to increased flooding, loss of biodiversity, and long-term environmental damage.
“We will not countenance these activities any longer. Those responsible will be held accountable, and strict enforcement measures will be taken without fear or favour,” she said.
The Minister reminded all MDCEs that their performance would be based on three clear areas: sanitation, streetlights, and enforcement of by-laws.
“These will be documented in my report to the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs and forwarded to the Presidency,” she said.
Madam Ocloo called on the public to report faulty streetlights for quick action, take responsibility for sanitation and avoid indiscriminate dumping.
She cautioned persons who steal metal gratings and covers and sell them to scrap dealers to desist from such acts or risk severe punishment.