Structure of Assembly

ADMINISTRATION

9.1     STRUCTURE OF THE ASSEMBLY

The Assembly is the highest political, Administrative, Planning, and Rating Authority in the Municipality performing deliberative, Legislative and Executive functions.

9.2     FUNCTIONS

  1. Subject to Act 462, 1993 of the Local Government, the Municipal Assembly exercises political and administrative authority in the Municipality, provides guidance, gives direction to, and supervises all other administrative authorities in the Municipality.
  2. For the purpose of subsection (1), the Municipal Assembly exercises deliberative, legislative and executive functions.
  3. without prejudice to subsection (1) and (2), the Municipal Assembly-

 

(a) Responsible for the overall development of the Municipality and ensures the preparation and submission through the Regional Co-ordinating Council-

(i) Development plans of the Municipality to the Commission for approval; and

(ii) Budget of the Municipality related to the approved plans to the Minister of Finance for approval;

 

(b) Formulates and executes plans, programmes and strategies for the effective mobilisation of the resources necessary for the overall  development of the Municipality;

(c) Promotes and supports productive activity and social development in the Municipality and removes any obstacles to initiative and development;

(d) Initiates programmes for the development of basic infrastructure and provides municipal works and services in the municipality;

(e) Responsible for the development, improvement and management of human settlements   and the environment in the Municipality;

(f) In co-operation with the appropriate national and local security agencies, is responsible for the maintenance of security and public safety in the Municipality;

(g) Ensures ready access to court in the Municipality for the promotion of justice;

(h) initiates, sponsors or carry out such studies as may be necessary for the discharge of any of the functions conferred by Act 462 or any other enactment; and

 

(i) Performs such other functions as may be provided under any other enactment.

 

  1. Subject to Act 462 and to Government policy, it is the responsibility of the

Municipal Assembly to take such steps and measures as are necessary and

expedient to-

  • Execute approved development plans for the Municipality;
  • Guide, encourage and support sub-district local government bodies,

public agencies and local communities to perform their roles in the execution of approved development plans;

  • Initiate and encourage joint participation with other persons or bodies to execute approved development plans;
  • Promote or encourage other persons or bodies to undertake projects

Under approved development plans; and

  • Monitor the execution of projects under approved development plans

and assess and evaluate their impact on the people’s     development, the local, district and national economy.

 

  1. The Municipal   Assembly   co-ordinates, integrates and harmonises   the

execution of programmes and projects under approved development   plans

for the Municipality and other development programmes promoted or

carried   out   by   ministries,   departments,   public corporations   and other

statutory bodies and non – governmental organisations in  the Municipality.

 

  1. Without prejudice to subsection (5), the Municipal Assembly in the discharge of its functions-

(a) Is subject to the general guidance and direction of the President on matters of national policy; and

(b) Acts in co-operation with the appropriate public corporation, statutory body or non-governmental organisation.

 

  1. It is the duty of public corporation, statutory body or organisation to co- operates with a District Assembly.

 

  1. In the event of a conflict between a District Assembly and an agency of the central government, public corporation, statutory body, non-governmental organisation or individual over the application of subsection (5) or (6), the             matter shall be referred by either of the parties or both to the Regional Co-ordinating Council for resolution.

 

The General Assembly has a total membership of 44 comprising 29 elected and 13 appointed members, the Municipal Chief Executive and the Hon. Member of Parliament.

 

The Presiding Member is the head of the General Assembly whilst the Municipal Chief Executive is both the political and Administrative head of the Municipality. The Assembly is expected to hold at least 3 ordinary meetings in a session.

 

10.1   SUB-STRUCTURES OF THE ASSEMBLY

In order to enhance the decentralization programme, provision has been made for the creation of Sub-Structures to support the Assembly in the performance of its functions. These substructures are the Town/Area and Zonal Councils and the Unit Committees. The Nsawam Adoagyiri has 2 Zonal Councils and 29 Unit Committees as presented below:

NAME OF COUNCIL HEADQUARTERS NO. OF UNIT COMMITTEES
 

Nsawam Zonal Council

 

Nsawam

 

18

 

Adoagyiri Zonal Council

 

Adoagyiri

 

11

 

It is however unfortunate that the Sub-structures are not functioning as expected. They are facing some challenges including the lack of personnel, logistics and commitment on the part of Councilors and Unit Committee Members. The Assembly has been able to provide office accommodation and furniture for the Councils, yet their performance is still not encouraging.

 

The issue of effective integration of the Sub-Structures in the decentralized Local Government set-up has been a national problem over the years. There is the need to continue with efforts at strengthening the Sub-Structures so that they can perform their functions to lighten the burden of the Assembly.

 

10.2   TRADITIONAL AUTHORITIES

Traditional Authorities constitute an important component of Local Government Administration. The Assembly relies on them for their wise counsel and mobilizing the people together with other stakeholders for development.

The Municipality has three (3) Traditional Areas. These are the Akuapem (Nsawam and Environs), Akim Kotoku (Adoagyiri), Akwamu (Sakyikrom).

 

It is interesting to note that the chiefs are members of their respective Traditional Councils which are located outside the Municipality.

11.0   COMMITTEES OF THE ASSEMBLY

The Assembly operates under the Committee system. The Executive Committee serves as the cabinet and is headed by the Municipal Chief Executive. The Committee implements the decisions of the Assembly when the House is in recess.

All other major decisions taken by the Executive Committee are subject to approval by the General Assembly. It has a Membership of 16 comprising the Chairmen and Secretaries of the various Sub-Committees. The Presiding Member is not a member of the Executive Committee. The Municipal Co-ordinating Director is the Secretary to the Executive Committee.

The Executive Committee has a number of sub-committees from which inputs are collated to the Executive Committee and finally to the General Assembly for decisions to be taken. There are five statutory Sub-Committees but the Assembly is enjoined to constitute any other Committees depending on the local situation. The following Sub-Committees are currently constituted.

 

11.1   FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION SUB-COMMITTEE          

Functions

The Finance and Administration sub-committee examines the general financial             position of the assembly; the revenue mobilization and expenditure trends of the             assembly; maps out strategies to improve revenue mobilisation in the present,        and sets targets for the future; submits financial plans to the Executive         Committee for harmonization with other sub-committee plans; identifies            strategies to ensure judicious utilization of available resources.

 

11.2   DEVELOPMENT PLANNING SUB-COMMITTEE

Functions

The Development planning sub-committee of the Assembly performs the     following functions; takes a comprehensive look at the district; Identify the          economic resources/potentials of the district; develop an information base on    the resources; identify opportunities and constraints for the exploitation of these           resources; prepare exploitation and phasing plans and strategies;

consult with other sub-committee and the private sector for the implications the proposed district plan may have on other sub-committees’ plans; and submit the plan to the executive committee for harmonization with other sub-committee plans.

 

11.3   SOCIAL SERVICES SUB-COMMITTEE              

Functions

The Social services sub-committee also performs the following functions; take a comprehensive and long term look at areas of social development in the district, in particular education; health, social welfare, sports, culture; develop the information base on these areas of social development; identify the strengths and weaknesses in the social services areas; prepare a social development plan (long, medium and short term), for the district; examine the implications of the social development plan on other sub-sectors of the district economy; and Submit the plans to the Executive Committee for harmonization.

 

11.4   JUSTICE AND SECURITY SUB-COMMITTEE      

Functions

The Justice and security sub-committee is set up to resolve intra-district and inter-districts conflicts and to consider issues that pertain to the enforcement of bye-laws of the assembly; to achieve these purposes, examines these and other related conflict areas; recommends to the Executive Committee ways and means to resolve disputes; ensures ready access to the courts and tribunals for the promotion of justice in the district e.g. making sure that premises are available for use by community tribunals, that police logistics are adequate, etc.

 

  • WORKS SUB-COMMITTEE

Functions

The fundamental areas of the Works Sub-Committee include roads, electricity, sanitation, water, etc. within the general framework of Act 462 and the specific functions in the legislative instruments that establish the various Assemblies, this sub-committee:

takes a comprehensive look at the infrastructure needs and problems of the district ;develops an information base on each of these programme/functional areas; maps out, initiates and phases out programmes for their development and/or provision; examines the implications of such actions for the other sub-committee proposals and submits the programmes to the Executive Committee for harmonization and action.

There is also the Public Relations and Complaints Committee chaired by the

Presiding Member. It is mandated to receive complaints against the   conduct of members and staff of the Assembly from the public and make recommendations to the Assembly.

 

12.0   OTHER COMMITTEES:

12.1     AUDIT COMMITTEE

Section 86 of the Public Financial Management Act 921 enjoins every Assembly to establish Audit Committee (ARIC) responsible for the implementation of the recommendations of the Audit Reports.

 

12.2     MUNICIPAL SECURITY COUNCIL (MUSEC)

The responsibility of the council which is chaired by the Hon. Municipal Chief Executive is to maintain the security of the Municipality. The committee holds regular monthly meetings to review the security situation of the Municipality. Areas where security is always threatened include cases involving land and chieftaincy disputes. The Municipal Co-ordinating Director is the Secretary to the committee.

However, the Security situation in the Municipality is generally calm. There are no serious chieftaincy and land disputes which pose a threat to the security of the area. The Assembly is supporting the Police with fuel to undertake night patrols.

 

12.3   MUNICIPAL TENDER COMMITTEE/ TENDER REVIEW BOARD

 

The Municipal Tender Committee and Tender Review Board are also statutory committees established in accordance with the new Procurement Act (Act 914 as amended).

The main function of the committees is to advise the Assembly on the award of contracts (see Section 39 of Act 462 of Local Government Act 1993). The Procurement Unit of this Assembly is the Secretary to the Tender Committee while the Municipal Planning Officer is the Secretary to the Tender Review Board.

 

12.4     MUNICIPAL PLANNING AND CO-ORDINATING UNIT (MPCU)

Section 46 sub-section 3 of the Local Government Act, 1993, Act 462 establishes the MPCU to assist the Municipal Assembly to execute designated planning functions. The functions of the MPCU are broadly categorized in the areas of Planning, Budgeting, Co-ordination, Monitoring, Reporting, Managing, Information and Advice.

 

The Municipal Co-ordinating Director convenes and chairs all MPCU meetings. The Co-ordinating Director is also responsible for issuing circulars to the sectors and other relevant agencies for the preparation of annual action plans and Medium Term Development Plans. He/she is also responsible for issuing reports that emanate from the Unit.

 

12.5   MUNICIPAL EDUCATION OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE

This Committee is responsible for seeing to the efficient delivery of education in the Municipality. The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) is the chairman of the Committee.

 

12.6   STATUTORY PLANNING COMMITTEE

The Committee is responsible for the approval and issuance of building permits in the Municipality. The Municipal Chief Executive is the Chairman.

13.0   DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES UNDER THE ASSEMBLY

In addition to the various Sub-Committees listed above, the Assembly is serviced by departments and Agencies. These departments provide the needed technical advice and carry out the actual implementation of policies, projects and programmes of the Assembly and Government.

The Central Administration is the Assembly’s Secretariat and it is supported by the other departments and Agencies in the day to day administration of the Municipality. The Municipal Co-ordinating Director is the head of the Secretariat and the bureaucracy.

 

All heads of departments of the Assembly and the various Divisional Heads of the Central Administration work to the Municipal Chief Executive through the Municipal Co-ordinating Director.

 

LIST OF DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

  1. Central Administration
  2. Finance
  3. Education Youth and sports
  4. Health
  5. Agriculture
  6. Physical Planning
  7. Social Welfare & Community Development
  8. Natural Resources Conservation Department Forestry Game and Wildlife Division
  9. Works
  10. Industry and Trade
  11. Disaster prevention and management
  12. Transport
  13. Urban Roads

 

14.0  SUBVENTED AGENCIES

  1. Non-formal Education Division
  2. Statistical Service
  3. Business Advisory Centre
  4. Judicial Service
  5. Ghana Highway Authority
  6. Audit Service
  7. National Youth Council
  8. National Service Secretariat
  9. Ghana National Fire Service
  10. Nsawam Government Hospital
  11. Labour Department
  12. National Health Insurance Scheme
  13. National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO)
  14. National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP)
  15. Electoral Commission
  16. Ghana Police Service
  17. Ghana Prisons Service
  18. ST Martin’s Senior High School
  19. Nsawam Senior High School
  20. Ghana Commercial Bank
  21. Citizen Rural Bank Limited
  22. Akuapem Rural bank
  23. South Akim Rural Bank
  24. National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE)
  25. Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ)
  26. Ghana Telecom Company
  27. Electricity Company of Ghana
  28.  Internal Revenue Service
  29. Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT)
  30. Ghana Post Company
  31. Ghana Water Company Limited

 

15.0   KEY STAFF

The staffing situation of the Assembly has improved with the recent recruitment and posting of new officers. However, the Assembly still lacks some middle level and technical personnel. The Assembly currently has total permanent staff strength of One hundred and eighty-three (183) and 35 temporary staff.