The Mayor of Kumasi Kojo Bonsu is challenging the accuracy of the Centre for Democratic Development/UNICEF District League Rankings which places the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly 71^st on the list of performing districts in Ghana.

The DLT described as a ranking tool of progress aimed at helping track which districts are doing well and those that are struggling. It ranks the Tema Metropolitan Assembly as the best performing assembly and Gomoa West as the worst performer out of 216 districts across the country.

But, Kumasi Mayor, Kojo Bonsu says the CDD league of districts is not an accurate assessment of the performances of districts in Ghana.

In a statement signed by his Spokesperson, Sammy Gyamfi, the Mayor posits that the six indicators used by CDD/UNICEF for the ranking – education, health, sanitation, water, governance and security – fall within the preview of other state institutions and not MMDA's per se.

He also catalogues a number of innovations and developmental projects instituted by his administration that could inure positively to any development ranking.

“The criteria and indicators used for the ranking do not practically and legally fall within the domain of district, municipal or metropolitan assemblies in Ghana,” said the statement.

On education, the statement says it is clear that although MMDAs may construct schools and other educational facilities, it doesn't lie in the powers of assemblies to appoint teachers and to supervise teaching and learning in schools.

“It is the GES and the Ministry of Education that are mainly responsible for the appointment and training of teachers, as well as the supervision of teaching and learning in our schools. The roles of MMDAs are therefore at best, auxiliary and ancillary to the responsibility of the GES and the ministry as far as the issue of education is concerned,” the statement said.

On the health criteria, it noted that whereas it is true that assemblies construct CHPS compounds and other health facilities, the tooling and equipping of these health facilities, the employment of competent nurses, doctors and health workers, and the delivery of health services are not the duties of MMDA's at all rather the Ghana health service and the ministry of health.

“It will therefore be extremely unfair and inappropriate, to blame an MCE/DCE for the abysmal performance of his assembly in the areas of health and education as far as the CDD ranking is concerned. This is so because most of the core issues that pertain to these sectors are controlled and managed by other institutions of state and not MMDAs,” the statement noted. “The same argument can be made on issues of security and water and many others. For example, the day to day provision of security in our cities is the work of the Ghana Police service. Under the laws of Ghana, the control of MMDAs over the Ghana police service as far as the provision of security for the general populace is concerned is a very limited one.”

The Kumasi Mayor however said the current position of the KMA on the list is shambolic.

The KMA has moved from its 160^th position in 2014 to 71^st position this year on the league of districts list.

Mr. Bonsu cited a number of developmental projects executed under his tenure to boost the local economy in the areas of trade, recreation, tourism, transparency and good governance.

“The current redevelopment of the Atonsu, Asawase and Tafo satellite markets, the Kejetia/Central Market reconstruction project, the Rattary Park completed project and many other infrastructure projects currently ongoing in the health and education sectors of Kumasi lay credence to this fact,” he noted.