GYIMAH AND OTHERS v. AGYEMAN AND ANOTHER

JUDGMENT OF ROGER KORSAH J.

By this originating summons, fourteen councillors of the Kumasi City Council, request a construction of the statutes relating to the office of an executive chairman of a local council, and in particular, the application of those statutes to determine the duration of the term of office of the first respondent as the Executive Chairman of the Kumasi City Council.

The applicants herein claim that upon a proper construction or application or both of the said enactments they are entitled to the following declarations:

(a) that the term of office of the first respondent is one year;

(b) that the term of office of the first respondent has expired;

(c) that the right resides in the councillors to appoint one of their number as the Chairman of the Kumasi City Council; and

(d) that section 8A of the Local Government Act, 1971 (Act 359), contravenes article 182 (4) of the Constitution, 1979.

Put in a nutshell, the events leading up to this application are that, the first respondent was on 2 December 1977, appointed the [p.430] Executive Chairman of the Kumasi City Council under and by virtue of section 8 of the Local Administration Act, 1971 (Act 359), as amended by sections 8 and 8A of the Local Administration (Amendment) Decree, 1974 (N.R.C.D. 258). The first respondent occupied the said office until 18 January 1979. On 19 January 1979, the Supreme Military Council re-appointed him as the executive chairman of the said city council with effect from the date of the instrument of appointment, i.e. 19 January 1979. And he has held that office from that date up to the present moment.

In both letters informing him of his appointment, the last paragraph reads:

“Your salary and other conditions of service will be communicated to you in due course. In the meantime, I am to request you to inform me, without delay, whether you accept this offer of appointment."

Both letters were exhibited by the first respondent, but he claims to have received no communication regarding other conditions of service except a letter addressed to the Executive Chairman of the three city councils of Accra, Sekondi-Takoradi and Kumasi, which reads:

"APPOINTMENT OF EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN

I wish to refer you to my letter No. CC/A/70 SF.VII dated 19th January, 1979, in relation to the above-mentioned subject and to inform you that the Head of State and Chairman of the Supreme Military Council has approved that the Executive Chairman of Accra, Kumasi and Sekondi-T