NDC Activists Disrupt Assembly Inauguration

A scene of the raucous agitation by the NDC activists

ANGRY activists of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) temporarily disrupted the inauguration of the Afigya-Kwabre District Assembly yesterday as they protested against the inclusion of some constituency leaders in the list of government appointees to the Assembly.

The party activists heckled organisers amidst the throwing of plastic chairs and the public address system in an apparent show of anger.

The NDC activists streamed into the Kodie Methodist Church auditorium and demanded that the names of Tahiru Amidu, Seth Atanga, Yaw Boadu, Cephas Boakye, Siba Gariba and Kodua Poku be removed from the list of government appointees since they had been there for two consecutive terms.

According to them, aside serving for eight years at the Assembly, Tahiru Amidu and his colleagues currently hold various executive positions in the NDC.

Tamimu Abubakar, speaking on behalf of the angry activists, said while Tahiru Amidu was the  Afigya-Kwabre South Constituency Secretary, Cephas Boakye, Seth Atanga, Yaw Boadu and Siba Gariba were Vice Chairman, Youth Organiser, Communications Officer and LESDEP Finance Officer respectively.

“They are not the only NDC members in the constituency. There are equally qualified people who are also members of our party and we demand their immediate removal from the list,” he insisted.

It took the intervention of reinforced police personnel from the Striking Force Unit of the Ashanti Regional Police Command to bring the situation under control, but that was after the arrest of two of the NDC activists.

The inaugural ceremony later got underway after 11:30am, with Betty Mould-Iddrisu, who represented President John Mahama, addressing the gathering.

She entreated the new Assembly members to have due regard for national interest and the interest of the people they represent.

The former Attorney General stated: “When the Assembly is served by dedicated and committed individuals who make it their duty to demand accountability of themselves and management of the Assembly, then credibility of Assembly will be assured in respect of decision-making.”

According to her, after 27 years of experimenting decentralisation, the nation could say with pride that the decision was justified. She called on the Assembly to generate more revenue internally to undertake development projects.

Unplanned Development  
She decried the unplanned and haphazard development currently going on in most Assemblies, noting, “It is so nauseating to see slums springing up in marshy areas and houses being built on waterways.

She urged officers at the Town and Country Planning Department, Survey Department and Lands Commission to abide by rules and regulations of their professions concerning allocation of plots to ensure that plots are developed according to their designated use in order to avoid flooding and its accompanying loss of lives and property.

From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kodie-Ash