A former Greater Accra Regional Minister, Ishmael Ashitey has asked government to make a budgetary allocation for the office of the regional minister.

Lamenting on the lack of control regional ministers have over monies delegated to local government, Mr. Ashitey stated that they often do not have the necessary funds to implement their ideas.

“The regional administration should be given a budget. Sometimes you may have good ideas but you don’t have the money to execute them. So we should look at the system once again and fashion it in such a way that the regional minister can look after the region and fashion it the way they desire.”

He argued that the allocation of revenues raised at the assembly level is determined by assemblymen without consulting the Regional Minister’s office, adding that it is high time government reviews its administrative system.

“Today it is the assemblies that are functioning, they are able to raise revenues and the assemblymen in their meetings take decisions on how the revenues should be allocated.

“So as a regional minister you will be sitting in Accra and you don’t have any control over how revenues are really used at the various assemblies if you have a vision of putting up a structure you have to either beg a minister or go to the assembly, I think that does not look well,” he said.

Ishmael Ashitey also wants government to complete the stalled Greater Accra Regional Minister’s residence project started by the then Regional minister Nii Armah Ashitey, which has been at the foundation level for several years.

‘The residence of the Regional Minister is not a place the somebody can stay. Luckily for us, Nii Armah Ashitey started a project to put up another building but it is still at the foundation level. I have discussed it with him and the minister of finance to follow up so we can get a place for the regional minister to stay. It is currently not in the best shape, the wood used is rotten.”