...Footsoldiers Jubilate

NDC Footsoldiers (insert thier DCE)

Foot-soldiers of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Ashanti region jumped into wild jubilation over the recent dismissal of a number of District and Municipal Chief Executives.

Out of the 13 DCEs who were asked by President Mills to vacate their positions, the region had four of the casualties.

They are Kwadwo Addae, Sekyere East, Victor Amponsah, Offinso South Municipality, Jacob Kofi Dankwa, Sekere Afram Plains and Mohammed Boakye Agyeman for Ejisu-Juaben.

Information reaching DAILY GUIDE indicates that foot-soldiers of the ruling party in the affected districts went into spontaneous jubilation when the announcement was made.

Whilst some quickly changed their clothes and wore all-white with powder poured all over their bodies, others jumped onto vehicles, tooting their horns in jubilation.

The blaring of 'soloko' tunes and various 'jama' songs travelled deep into the night.

In the Sekyere East district for instance, where Mr. Addae was removed from office, the merriment, this paper gathered, was so intense that drinking bars in Effiduase, the district capital, were flooded with merrymakers throughout the night.

The fun at Effiduase Zongo, the stronghold of the NDC in the district, was so great that residents quickly slaughtered all kinds of animals and prepared meals for people to enjoy free of charge.

Interestingly, the merry-makers in the affected areas were not only foot-soldiers of the ruling party but also constituency and ward executives of the party, some of whom even sponsored the impromptu funfair.

Indications were that the jubilation will continue over the weekend as some of the highly-elated executives and foot-soldiers were planning to hold parties and other merry-making activities over the dismissals.

In the case of Mr. Addae, his dismissal did not come as a surprise as many were of the view that he was even lucky not to have been dismissed a long time ago when the party's foot-soldiers started agitations against him.

With the allegation that he was more sympathetic to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and rejected the cause of the NDC foot-soldiers, the supporters in the Effiduase Zongo consistently locked horns with the DCE.

When their agitations for his removal were not yielding fruitful results, about 1000 supporters of the party in the area on two separate occasions held press conferences and announced their defection to the NPP.

The situation deteriorated, when the ousted Ashanti regional minister, Kofi Opoku Manu, led a delegation to the area to reconcile the two feuding parties. But for the timely intervention of the police, the irritated foot-soldiers would have lynched the then regional minister.

Also not surprising was the dismissal of Mr. Amponsah when he was said to have left his post and travelled to the United States of America on holidays without the prior approval of the then regional minister.

Similarly, the dismissal of Mohamed Boakye Agyeman was expected as he has been terminally ill since assuming office, a development which did not afford him the chance to discharge his duties as the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Ejisu-Juaben.

Victoria Awilson, a leading member of the NDC at Ejisu, told Angel Fm that she was delighted at the dismissal of Mr. Agyeman as she never thought that the MCE had the competence to administer the area.

According to her, the continuous stay of Mr. Agyeman in office was going to be a huge disincentive to the Mills-led government as his contribution would not have made the 'Better Ghana' agenda a reality.

Kingsford Adu Boahen, the Offinso South NDC constituency chairman, also told the same network that they were relieved by the dismissal of Mr. Amponsah as they could now have somebody who would serve the interest of the party.

Meanwhile, the affected municipalities and districts are anxious to know the persons who would be appointed to replace their dismissed M/DCEs.

From Morgan Owusu, Kumasi