I Haven't Engaged In Any Illegality—Dormaa West District DCE Fires At Critics
According to him, the third Quarter Ordinary General Assembly Meeting held on Monday November 7, 2023 without the Presiding Member (MP) was not in violation of the Local Government Act in Ghana under section 17 of the assembly laws as being claimed by his critiques purported to be few disgruntled Assembly members.
Freeman Koryekpor 
THE DISTRICT CHIEF Executive (DCE) for Dormaa West District Assembly in the Bono Region, Mr Francis Kwadwo Oppong, has stated that he has not engaged in any illegality in charging of his administrative duties of the Assembly.
According to him, the third Quarter Ordinary General Assembly Meeting held on Monday November 7, 2023 without the Presiding Member (MP) was not in violation of the Local Government Act in Ghana under section 17 of the assembly laws as being claimed by his critiques purported to be few disgruntled Assembly members.
The DCE told Soireenews.com in an interview that it was a collective decision taken by all the fifteen (15) assembly members of the Assembly to delegate one of the Assemy members to chair such meeting before they have agreed to hold the meeting to dissolve the Assembly.
"All the Assembly members of the electoral areas within the Dormaa West District have attended the meeting on Monday November, 7 2023 and sat for about five hours to discuss and subsequently approve 2024 annual action plan, 2024 composite Budget, 2024 fee fixing resolution, and revenue improvement action plan among others.
"So l find it extremely difficult to understand why these critics who are some assembly members after attending the meeting would still go to use the media platform of the NDC affiliated radio station to be accusing the Assembly and me of engaging in illegal meeting.
"Even the Assembly members themselves have chosen one of their colleagues to chair such meeting and that what has he does wrong in this matter?," the DCE rhetorically questioned.
Some assembly members perceived to be affiliated to the NDC have accused the DCE for allowing the Assembly to hold Assembly General meeting without the Presiding Member, which development has completely violated the Local Government Act in Ghana under section 17 of the assembly laws.
These aggrieved Assembly members were reported to have opposed the decision of the Assembly to hold the meeting without the PM, demanding explanation to the actions of the Assembly.
Instead the leadership of the Dormaa West District Assembly to do the right things as being stipulated in the Local Government Act under the section 17 of the District Assembly laws, they have arrogated to themselves the power to change the laws arbitrarily by way going ahead to hold the meeting, they told Soireenews.com.
They quoted the section 17 of the District Assembly law which stipulated that there shall be a Presiding Member of each District Assembly who shall be elected by the Assembly from among its members. The law says the Presiding Member shall be neither the District Chief Executive nor a member of Parliament.
The law provided that the Presiding Member shall be elected by at least a two-thirds majority of all the members of the District Assembly.
According to the law the Presiding Member shall hold office for a term of two years and is eligible for re-election subject to subsection (6).
It explained the Presiding Member shall convene and preside at meetings of the District Assembly and perform other functions prescribed by law and the Standing Orders of the District Assembly.
In the absent of the PM before the Dormaa West District Assembly went ahead to hold its Third Quarter Ordinary meeting on Monday November, 7 2023 to discusse and approve,2024 annual action plan , 2024 composite Budget , 2024 fee fixing resolution, Revenue improvement action plan.
In view on this, the assembly held its meeting with no presiding member because since 2022 after the tenure of the then Presiding Member of the Assembly, Mr Yeboah Dogyetey office ended though he seeks for second term but they voted against him and since then several assembly members aspire for the position but they voted against.
However, they pointed out that the action by the Assembly to hold its meeting without the the Presiding Member has completely amounted to violation of the Local Government Act.
Speaking to former Minister of Local Government and Rural Development,
Mr Adjei Darko, he stated emphatically that, the assembly cannot hold meeting without presiding member.
He stressed that it is illegal for Dormaa West District Assembly to hold its general meeting without having presiding member.
But in a quick rebuttal, the DCE stressed that the Assembly has done no wrong of orgaising such meeting, calling on all and sundry to reject the claim by his critiques.
The DCE stressed that "after all we held the meeting to dissolve the Assembly, adding that it is only court of law which can turn the meeting down.
He expressed disappointment that his
critics had not gone to the court of law for the redress of the matter but they had chosen to stand somewhere or radio station in the area to be wrongly accusing him and the Assembly of engaging in illegalities in regard to the meeting held to dissolve the Assembly.
He argued that what are the illegalities that l am doing, explaining that his outfit decision to organize the Ordinary General Assembly Meeting was informed by the meeting they held for which they were ordered by the local government authority to dissolve Assembly.
"So definitely, there are some things that we have to show to the Assembly members of the Assembly.This is because at that time they were still Assembly members. And what was wrong with that. What law did I break. Some of Assembly members who are accusing me of doing wrong things are all present before the meeting was held.
"None of them have raised an objection to what we discussed and approved at such meeting. "...and l was surprised that now that we have finished the meeting, they are using the radio station here to be peddling lies about me of engaging in illegality. So the question was that is the Assembly members who have engaged in illegalities."
The DCE noted that even a person, Mr Yeboah Dogyetey that they are talking about as the PM who to chair the meeting, his term of office has ended and that he didn't have capacity to chair such meeting.
"In this regard we thought itherwise that if we want to hold the Ordinary General Assembly meeting, one of the Assembly members to chair it. And we all agreed that one of them [referring to the Assembly members] to go and chair the meeting for which he chaired. So if they felt that it is null and void they should rightfully write to me so that we should discuss everything," the DCE noted.
When they came to sit in the meeting for five hours no Assembly man has raised objection to all the matters we have discussed and approved in the meeting," he said.
The DCE expressed worry that "it was one NDC radio station here which took the matter up and the critics were in such station calling on the former local minister to clarify the issues regarding the meeting.
"I was told that Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Adjei Darko also defended them by saying that the assembly cannot hold meeting without presiding member.
But the DCE stressed that "l am saying that if they felt that his outfit has engaged in illegality the appropriate law institution is the court of law to seek redress of the matter.
"It is law court that they can prove that the meeting was null and void," he stated
