Ghana@50 exposes MCEs, DCEs

…over poor record keeping, abuse of discretion
Posted: The Chronicle | Tue, 27 Oct 2009

By Charles Takyi-Boadu & George Frimpong

The Commission probing the country's 50th Anniversary celebration is getting increasing worried over the rate at which Municipal and District Chief Executives (M/DCEs) abuse their discretion in record-keeping.

This became evident at its sitting yesterday, when some of these former public servants who appeared before the Commission, virtually admitted using their discretion in taking decisions which affected the sale and distribution of Ghana @50 cloths, polo shirts and souvenirs before, during, and after the celebrations.

First to admit his guilt, was the former MCE for West Akim, Kwabena Sintim-Aboagye, when he openly told the Commission that he might have committed an error of judgment by using his discretion in taking certain decisions.

This was after he and others were subpoenaed to respond to allegations leveled against them by some people who had earlier appeared before the Commission.

Though he denied the allegation of pocketing any of the proceeds from the sale of the anniversary items, he admitted taking a few for onward distribution to some key and influential people in the Municipality, including traditional leaders and senior citizens for free.

He however did not have any documentary evidence to show the individuals and group of persons he gave the items to.

That, notwithstanding, Sintim-Aboagye said he was extremely surprised when the incumbent Director of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) came to make unfounded allegations against him, stressing that he was unhappy when he listened and watched him on television.

According to him, he realised a lot of factual inaccuracies and discrepancies in the Director's presentation.

Accounts
He gave a vivid account of how the Assembly expended the GH¢10,000 allocated to them by the Ghana@50 Secretariat for the organization of the celebration, an amount he said was nothing to write home about, emphasising that they received 50 pieces of the anniversary cloth, and sold them at GH ¢30 each, all amounting to GH¢1,500.

Considering the high demand for the cloth, he noted that the Assembly requested for more, leading to the supply of another 30 pieces, bringing the total proceeds of the sale to GH¢2,400.00, an amount Sintim-Aboagye said, he personally handed over to the then Eastern Regional Minister, Yaw Barima.

As the demand for the polo shirts also increased, he said, they managed to secure some 720 pieces from private sources, and paid for it.

He talked of how the Assembly used some of the already scanty resources to save the life of a 24 year old National Service person, who was injured by a stray bull on the day of the anniversary celebration, to the admiration of members of the Commission.

Though not part of the programme and activities for the celebration, he noted, the Assembly used part of the money to foot the medical bills of the lady with a yet-to-date outstanding debt of GH¢603.00.

Sintim-Aboagye said there were receipts at the RCC to support his claim, whilst the incident involving the National Service person was reported in the newspapers.

Mavis Allotey, who acted as the Store Keeper of the Assembly, and Alhaji Ibrahim Tijani, former Director of the RCC, also took their turns to clear allegations leveled against them.

On his part, the former District Chief Executive for the Kwahu West Municipal Assembly, Nana Kofi Kesse, had a tough time explaining the laxity with which the Assembly kept records.

Though, he admitted receiving and keeping the items in his office, he later invited the Store Keeper and the Director of the Regional Coordinating Council to take inventory of it.

He could however not give a proper account of the items received for the celebration, since, according to him, they arrived on March 4, 2007, when he was under pressure.

The Commissioners criticised him for his inability to exercise proper supervision over the items entrusted to the care of the Assembly.

Akuapem North
The then Principal Accountant of the Akuapem North Assembly, Mr. David Mensah, said about GH¢7,100 was accrued from the sales of the Ghana@50 souvenirs, but the money was handed over to the DCE.

Three in police grip

… Over fire at Foreign Ministry
Posted: The Chronicle | Fri, 23 Oct 2009

By Charles Takyi-Boadu

Three persons are being questioned at the Police Headquarters in Accra following Wednesday's fire outbreak, which gutted the ten-storey building office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The three, who are said to be members of a private security firm, are being held on suspicion of either causing, or being part of a group that set the fire.

They were said be around when the fire started, and therefore are suspected to have knowledge about the inferno.

The Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Rosemary Bio Atinga, told The Chronicle yesterday that the three were picked up by her men on Thursday morning, but later had to be transferred to the headquarters of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), for further interrogation.

She however declined to give the names and identities of those arrested for security reasons.

Considering the magnitude of the fire outbreak, and the 'strange' circumstances under which it started, she said the police suspected foul play, and that it could be the handiwork of arsonists.

For this reason, the Regional Police boss said that they had set up a taskforce, made up of crack detectives from both the National and Regional headquarters, to unravel the mystery surrounding the entire incident.

ACP Bio Atinga has thus charged members of the public, who may be privy to some form of information, to volunteer it to the police.

She appealed to those who intend to go to the scene of the incident, to stay away to enable the police conduct unimpeded and thorough investigations.

The Foreign Affairs Minister, Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni, who is currently attending a programme in Malawi, has expressed utter dismay at the incident.

In an interview with the paper from his Malawi base yesterday, Mr. Mumuni said he was shocked when he heard the news, and that he was even making preparations to catch a flight back home.

“It is a calamity that is of the greatest proportion, with serious implications for the Ministry and the country,” he said, and called on the police to conduct a thorough forensic investigation into the incident.

Whilst appreciating the fact that it was too early to jump to any conclusions, Mr. Mumuni could not fathom how and why any reasonable human being would deliberately set fire to a building which serves the interest of the country.

Meanwhile, President Mills has ordered immediate investigations into the circumstances leading to the fire outbreak on Wednesday night, which took fire fighters several hours to bring under control.

Speaking with journalists after touring the scene of the incident, the President indicated that the investigations should be able to establish what might have caused the fire.

“I am not interested in scapegoats; I am not interested in witch-hunting. I am only interested in the truth, and once the truth is unearthed, we will know how to deal with cases of this nature,” he emphasised.

He empathised with the workers whose offices were affected by the incident, and assured them of alternative accommodation from government, saying “we are seriously looking for alternative accommodation, and we will, in the next few days, find you offices from which you can continue with your work.” The fire destroyed virtually everything in the ten-storey building, except the first and sixth floors.