This section discusses the role of the District Assembly and its substructures, Decentralized Departments, Area Councils, Unit Committees, Civil Societies, NGOs, Donor communities, Traditional authorities and other stakeholders in the development process. District Assemblies have been assigned functions that adequately empower them to provide de-concentrated and devolved local public services and to be responsible for the overall development of the districts.

Governance Issues (Functions and structure) By law, the Ajumako-Enyan-Essaim District Assembly was established by Legislative Instrument 1383 of 1988, which constitutes the highest political and administrative authority in the district (Local Government Act 1993, Act 462 now Local Governance Act 2016, Act 936) with the mandate to initiate and co-ordinate all development efforts and to implement government policies aimed at sustainable development at all levels.

General Assembly

The General Assembly of the Ajumako-Enyan-Essaim District Assembly is composed of seventy (70) members made up of forty-seven (47) elected members, twenty-one (21) appointees and Member of Parliament and the District Chief Executive. The Assembly is empowered to exercise deliberative, legislative and executive functions in the district. The Presiding Member who is elected from among the Assembly Members chairs the Assembly meetings as well as the Public Relations and Complaints committee

Area Councils

The District is divided into two (2) Town Councils (Ajumako and Bisease) and Seven (7) Area Councils namely; Baa, Mando, Enyan-Maim, Enyan Abaasa, Enyan Denkyira, Breman Essiam and Etsii-Sonkwaa. There are 97 Unit Committees that work through the Area /Town Councils to the Assembly level. The Ajumako Enyan Essiam District Assembly is currently composed of the District Chief Executive, the Member of Parliament within the district forty-seven (47) elected members from each electoral area and twenty-one (21) appointees by the president in consultation with opinion leaders in the district. The town and area councils are to be provided with offices for their operations. Some revenue areas will be ceded to the sub-structures to mobilise resources for their activities. This notwithstanding, the assembly must do more to resource and strengthen them for effective performance of their functions. Strengthening these sub-structures will positively lead to high revenue mobilisation for the assembly, ownership of projects for maintenance and longevity (sustainability), broad-based decision-making etc.

The District Planning Coordinating Unit (DPCU) however, advises and provides a secretariat for the District as a planning authority in its planning, programming, monitoring, evaluation and coordinating functions. The Executive Committee co-ordinates plans and programs of the subcommittees and submit these as comprehensive plans of action to the District Assembly.

The Executive Committee which excludes the Presiding Member (PM) is chaired by the District Chief Executive (DCE). This body performs the executive and administrative functions of the District Assembly. The executive committee is made up of the chairpersons of the various sub committees of the assembly. The sub- committees include:

There are five (5) statutory Committees of the Assembly as provided by LI 1993 Act 642. Finance and Administration Justice and Security Social Services Works Development Planning

Administration

Organizational Chart showing the structure, decision making and reporting relations in the Ajumako Enyan Essiam District Assembly.

Figure 10: organizational structure of the DA

Security

The Security situation in Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam District Assembly is relatively calm. There is no serious security threat apart from petty crimes which the Ghana Police Service can deal with.