NPP Supporters Want Effah Dartey Out

A section of New Patriotic Party (NPP) members in Berekum are calling for the removal Capt. Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey (Rtd), Member of Parliament (MP) for Berekum, and the District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr. Kwabena Kyere Yeboah, for releasing ¢300 million to a contractor for an uncompleted work

In spite of a report of an investigation committee from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, recommending that the two be sanctioned for releasing monies to the contractor constructing the Jinijini Community Centre.

At a press conference held at Berekum on Wednesday, the spokesman for the group, Nana Yaw Adjei, urged President Mr. John Agyekum Kufuor, to use his good office to ensure that the recommendations in the report are implemented without delay.

The members however vowed that there would be a fierce resistance, if Mr. Kyere Yeboah were re-appointed the DCE for Berekum.

According to the spokesman, the DCE must be arrested and prosecuted for causing financial loss to the state, because there is nowhere in the statutory books of this country that it is stated a total contract sum could be released to a contractor, when the job is just seven percent done.

The committee recommended that Effah-Dartey, then a Deputy Minister of the MLG&RD, who is supposed to regulate the financial behaviour of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, should attract an official reprimand for directing the DCE, Mr. Kyere, to release funds without following due process.

He said, “The committee's report, also called for sanctions against the DCE, for lack of judgment in deciding the release of the funds to the contractor working on the Jinijini Community Centre, Nana Osei Kumi, Chairman of the Works Sub-Committee of the Berekum District Assembly and the Managing Director of the Baaconst, the contracting firm in the deal.

“But up to date, the DCE is walking free on the streets of Berekum and even still travelling up and down to Accra, lobbying for his re-appointment as Berekum DCE, without any sanctions,” the aggrieved members lamented.

Nana Adjei told the press that since the NPP government preaches zero tolerance for corruption, it was prudent that the government, for that matter, the Presidency, should ensure that all people responsible for implementation of the recommendations of the committee did that, to clear the minds of Ghanaians who conceived the evil impression that the NPP government was becoming corrupt.

Nana Adjei said they were shocked when they read that the DCE had released the total contract sum of ¢300 million to Nana Osei Kumi, also member of the procurement committee of the assembly, whilst the job done at the project site was only 7%.

According to Nana Adjei, the lack of judgment of Mr. Kyere simply indicates that he is incompetent and corrupt and deserved to be punished by the laws of this country, and certainly not re-appointed.

Meanwhile, a visit to the site saw some workers of Baaconst, busily working on the structure of the centre and the project is estimated to have reached about 45% completion point.

However the concrete blocks used in putting up the walls of the centre were not well dried and this may lead to some cracks and eventually become a shoddy job.

When the DCE was contacted on the quality of materials being used for the construction works, he said he had not visited the centre since it was started, but promised to send his engineers there for inspection.