Sack Our D.C.E. - Bosumtwi Assembly members

Twenty-four assemblymembers of the Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma District in Ashanti have called for a vote of no confidence in the District Chief Executive, Bright Addae-Mununkum, for a wide range of alleged fraudulent deals in the assembly.

The members, who form one third of the 72-member assembly required for such a motion, have asked the presiding member, Albert Marfo, to convene a meeting within seven days, starting from last Sunday to consider the vote.

A letter to that effect a copy of which was made available to the Times catalogued 10 allegations against the DCE and requested that in the interest of the nation the Serious Fraud Office be made to investigate the issues raised.

Topping the list was the allegation that without recourse to any legitimate procedure, Mr. Addae-Mununkum increased by ¢500 million, the money earmarked for the building of the DCE's quarters which was estimated at ¢874 million.

They also claimed that the DCE had prepared a fake voucher to collect money for a road construction project which was financed by the Department of Feeder Roads.
They further alleged that even though the DCE had no housegirl he had been signing and collecting allowances purported for his housegirl since 2004.

He also allegedly used ¢75 million from the Assembly's coffers to bribe some external auditors who audited the 2002 to 2004 accounts of the assembly. Although available records indicate that the money was disbursed on investment promotion and publication, valuation of properties and feeder roads rehabilitation, no such projects existed, they said.

In another instance, the assembly members said an amount of ¢161 million alleged to have been used for refuse collection at Esreso, a suburb here, was not covered by tender.

Again Mr. Addae-Mununkum allegedly accommodated his fiancée in the assembly's commercial guest house for more than a year, causing a loss of not less than ¢36.5 million to the assembly.

They also accused the DCE of paying all donations at funerals, cost of his fuel and medical expenses of his family from the assembly's Common Fund share, contrary to the regulations and dubiously assigning to his friend the running of a toll booth at the Lake Bosomtwe, disregarding a competitive offer by another company,

Mr. Addae-Mununkum was again accused of sharing ¢200 million, earmarked for agricultural development in the district with his cronies.

The letter recalled that before his re-nomination into office last year a lot of concern was raised in the media about the DCE's alleged corrupt practices to which some assembly members drew the President's attention.

“We expected after he managed to bulldoze his way through that he would learn a lesson and see reason to behave well by stopping his dubious ways of running the district.”

However, they said the situation rather worsened after the assembly gave him the nod for a second term.

The presiding member, confirmed to the Times having received the letter on July 9. He said a committee had been instituted to investigate the allegations and he was arranging to convene a meeting of the assembly to hear the petitioners.