The Local Government and Rural Development Minister Hajia Alima Mahama has called on Metropolitan, Municipal and Districts Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to assist government to maintain peace in the country as the 2020 General Elections approach.

Reading the speech on her behalf, the Chief Director of the Ministry, C.K. Dondieu at an award ceremony for the 2018 Best Performing MMDAs on Tuesday, said various Chief Executives Officers must work to reduce the political tension in their various MMDAs.

“It behoves on us all to work hard to reduce the already high tension in the political space by being tolerant of opposing views and by execising the greatest restraint towards violence before during and after the elections,” she urged.

Hajia Mahama further touted the initiatives led by the Akufo-Addo government to improve the local governance.

According to her, as part of government’s effort to expand democracy, over 44 MMDAs have been created and have been furnished with all the requisite materials to operate.

“To enable these assemblies to function properly, new Assembly blocks are being constructed to provide office accommodation that will facilitate the work of these new assemblies,” she said.

On his part, the Greater Accra Minister, Ishmael Ashitey stated that government has installed a Performance Management System (PMS) software that monitors and evaluates the activities of MMDCEs.

The award winners have therefore met all the requirements of improving quality service and enhancing staff productivity, increasing job satisfaction, developing competencies and achieving the full potential of all staff in the Service.

“The Performance Contracts are signed between Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Co-ordinating Directors (MMDCD) on yearly basis to evaluate achievement of set objectives and targets in service delivery within a given time frame by all staff of the Assemblies.

“This will no doubt, reinforce accountability of employees relative to their set goals and performance,” he said.

Mr Ashitey also noted that the introduction of the Performance Management System (PMS) has brought about a more scientific, reliable and objective approach for performance management of staff and has provided a platform for comparison of the performances of MMDAs and their staff.

Head of the Local Government Service, Dr Nana Ato Arthur in his speech, was pleased that in the 2018 ranking, 123 out of the then 216 assemblies performed creditably well.

He noted that despite the limited resources in the country’s local governance system, MMDAs had worked dutifully to improve the living conditions of the residents of their societies.

“The first 10 out of the 123 MMDAs who excelled will today be rewarded for demonstrating resilience and deploying the Ghanaian ‘’Can Do Spirit ‘’ to make great strides in their respective areas of operation leading to achievement of these results. By your efforts, you have proved that the LGS is on its way to greatness," he stated.

Dr Ato Arthur although acknowledged the good works of MMDAs he called for more efforts to promote decentralization in the country.