GOVERNANCE


The General Assembly of the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly is the highest decision making. STMA now has 55 members (4 non-voting rights -: 3 Members of Parliament & 1 MCE), 3-Constituencies and 36-Electoral Area. There are 53 Assembly Members (36 elected and 17 appointed by the Government and 6 females Assembly Members (11.76%). The Assembly has two main committees; the Executive Committee (now Metropolitan Authority) and the Public Relations and Complaints Committee (PRCC).

The PRCC is chaired by the Presiding Member and receives complaints made against the conduct of members and staff of the Assembly from the public and makes recommendations to the Assembly. Heads of the Decentralized Departments are ex-officio members of the Assembly and advise the Assembly on technical issues and are also responsible for the implementation of decisions made by the Assembly. Apart from the two main committees, there are 7 sub-committees namely: The Development Planning Sub-Committee, Works Sub-Committee, Finance and Administration Sub-Committee, Social Services Sub-Committee, Revenue Mobilization Sub-Committee, Education SubCommittee, and Environment and Sanitation Sub-Committee.

These sub-committees discuss issues relating to the growth and development of the Metropolis and make recommendations to the Executive Committee. Security matters are being handled by the Metropolitan Security Committee (METSEC).

It is the mandate of the Members of Parliament to register the interest and the concerns of their constituencies and the Metropolis at large on the floor of the National Parliament. The Metropolitan Assembly is made up of three Sub- Metropolitan District Councils. These SubDistrict administrative structures are symbols of community participation. They form the basis for the effective distribution of infrastructural services at the Sub-District level. The sub-metropolitan district councils have their offices at the following location; Takoradi sub metro at Takoradi, Sekondi sub metro at Sekondi and Essikado-Ketan sub metro at Essikado.

The Town and Area Councils are yet to be established and fully resourced to ensure efficiency in public policy management and participation, decentralization, transparency, accountability, public expenditure and asset management. There will be the need for more attention to be placed on the strengthening of the sub-structures within the medium term.

Stakeholder Engagements

STMA has rolled out several interventions that promote and enhance participatory decision making, service delivery and transparent and accountable governance at the local level. The intervention includes a dialogue platform where management of the Assembly gets closer to the citizenry to encourage grassroots participation in the identification of development gaps and exploring avenues to discuss the development agenda of the metropolitan assembly.

Town Hall Meetings

The Assembly has been holding Town Hall meetings twice a year; the first quarter and third quarter respectively rotated in the four (4) Sub-Metropolitan Districts Councils. This is aimed at not only allowing inhabitants to interact with key officials of STMA on their wellbeing but also serves as a platform for city authorities to explain development policies and programmes.

Community Engagement

To better understand citizen needs, and target policies and programs to meet them, STMA in 2016 introduced a program dubbed “Time with Community”. Time with community is organized twice every week; Tuesdays and Thursday, 16:00GMT-18:00GMT at community levels where the various heads of department and units meet with the inhabitants including Chiefs, Assembly Members, Unit Committee Members, Opinion leaders, Religious Leaders, CSOs and the general public to discuss developmental issues.

This platform has helped to promote a better understanding of the local government structures, their roles and responsibilities towards national development. Promote transparency, inclusiveness, openness and accountability. Citizens’ participation in decisions making that affects their lives has been enhanced and has contributed to improvement in Internally Generated Funds (IGF).



Date Created : 2/6/2025 2:15:02 AM