Stories complied by Sebastian R. Freiku
The 53-year-old Obuasi District Manager of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), formerly Internal Revenue Service, Lawyer Joseph Kwesi Asuming, has emerged the longest serving Presiding Member in the country, with his re-election to preside over the Bosomtwe District Assembly for the fifth time.
He polled 37 of the 49 votes at the election at Kokwado near Kuntanase recently in a second round ballot, after the four contestants had failed to get the two-thirds majority in the first round of voting.
Lawyer Asuming had polled 28 votes instead of 33 votes to carry the day in the first round, forcing the election into a second round.
The other contestants were Samuel Asare Korang, Assembly Member for Akokofe (two votes), Nana I.K. Nyame, a former DCE of the district and government appointee as a well as a sub-Chief of Pramso (seven votes), and Dickson Yaw Manu, Assembly Member for Feyiase (12 votes).
Lawyer Joseph Kwesi Asuming, a Chief Revenue Officer, has been the elected Assembly Member for the Worakose/Onwi Electoral area since 1998.
Lawyer Asuming first became the Presiding member of the then Bosomtwe Atwima Kwanwoma District Assembly in 2001. He was re-elected in 2003 for another two year term, but resigned in September 2005 to pursue law at the Ghana School of Law, after which pursuit he was called to the Bar in 2007.
In 2007 he contested for the position and was elected again as Presiding Member, and held the position till his re-election again in 2011, following which he has been retained at the recent poll for the fifth time, thus becoming the longest serving Presiding Member in the country.
He thanked members of the Assembly for the confidence reposed in him, and urged them to co-operate to solve the developmental challenges facing the communities for the general development of the district.
He has since been sworn into office by Mr. Justice Daniel Kwaku Oteng of the Bekwai Circuit Court.
The PM also charged assembly members to study the Local Government Act 462 of 1963, and the Model Standing Orders seriously, so as to be able to contribute meaningfully during Assembly meetings.
Lawyer Asuming called for unity among the members of the house, reminding them that the Assembly operated on non-partisan lines.
He urged the members to intensify revenue mobilisation for the assembly, and also charged them to adopt the Alternative Dispute Resolution method in settling cases in the communities, since the orthodox court system was expensive, time consuming, and did not promote reconciliation at the local level.
Pix: Lawyer J. K. Asuming, PM, Bosomtwe Assembly