Leader of the Trans Africa Tourism and Unity Campaign, Ras Mubarak, has called for urgent reforms in Ghana’s local governance system, arguing that the current practice of appointing District Chief Executives (DCEs) and Municipal Chief Executives (MCEs) undermines grassroots development.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, as part of reflections from his 163-day road trip across 39 African countries, Mr. Mubarak noted that while Ghana has much to be proud of, systemic flaws continue to limit progress.
“The challenge for us in Africa is that we beat ourselves a lot on some of the things. And if you are Ghanaian, you just have to travel to other countries to see what a beautiful country Ghana is, even though we could be doing a lot better than we are doing,” he observed.
He criticised the appointment model for local government leadership, stressing that political loyalty often takes precedence over competence.
“There is no way you can get it right with local governance if you keep appointing DCEs and MCEs in a manner that we do in Ghana. This is because the person has zero experience; his claim to fame is that he is a party person and was appointed. You think such a person can seriously advance a community’s sanitation issues or bring in investments? It is not going to happen,” he argued.
Mr. Mubarak insisted that reforming the system is key to ensuring local governments can attract investment, address basic needs, and drive real development.
Source: Adomonline
