Vida Tangwam: Duties of Assembly Members Vital for Local Governance

The Assembly Member for the Abokobi Electoral Area, Vida Tangwam, says assembly members are critical in local governance, emphasizing the significance of their duties as outlined in Section 16 of the Local Governance Act, 2016 — Act 936.

She said the performance of these duties is essential for the effective discharge of the assembly’s deliberative, legislative, and executive functions, thereby highlighting the critical importance of assembly members in driving community development and progress.

In an interview with RGG News, Madam Vida Tangwam, stated that the main focus of an Assembly member is to present the views, opinions, and proposals of the electorate to the District Assembly.

“It is a fundamental duty of every assembly member to present the views, opinions, and proposals of the electorate to the District Assembly and that will be my focus”, she said.
She said one of the challenges faced by Assembly Members is the belief that the Assemblyman should raise funds to develop his area.

“The idea that an assemblyman should raise funds on his initiative is based on the guiding principle of voluntarism and communal ways of self-help development which has no place in modern democratic practice”, she said.

She however noted that she will work hard to marshal resources to drive the developmental agenda in the area of women and youth empowerment.

“I plan to secure funds to provide skills training for unskilled youth and women in the area of tailoring and dressmaking, hairdressing, carpentry, masonry, and others so they can fend for their selves”, she promised.

Meanwhile, two hundred and fifty-nine metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies (MMDAs) were yesterday inaugurated across the country for a four-year tenure aimed at fostering local development and governance.

Thirty percent of the assembly members were appointed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who would, together with members of parliament and district chief executives constitute the assembly in the various MMDAs.

They have the mandate to deliberate, plan, mobilise resources and make decisions to ensure the transformation of their districts during their term of office.