Concerned citizens demonstrate against nomination of Kwabre DCE

Mamponteng (Ash), July 14, GNA - A group calling itself the 'Dedicated concerned Citizens' of Kwabre District on Thursday staged a three-hour demonstration through the principal streets of Mamponteng against the nomination of Alhaji Kwasi Yeboah as the District Chief Executive.

The demonstrators who were from 20 communities carried placards some of which read: "Don't Buy Assembly Members' Votes", "Where is the ultra modern market you promised", "Alhaji, you have no hand in Mamponteng Water Project", "Your involvement in chieftaincy exposed", and "Stop the divide and rule tactics".

Clad in red and black, the demonstrators who included some sub-chiefs, elders and opinion leaders later converged at the forecourt of the Kwabre District Assembly where they presented a petition to the District Co-ordinating Director.

Copies of the petition had been sent to the President and the Ashanti Regional Minister.

Presenting the petition, Nana Owusu-Ansah, a leading member of the group, expressed the hope that the petition would be given serious consideration so as to bring about the needed unity in the District to enhance development.

In the petition, the group accused the DCE of involving himself in chieftaincy issues to the detriment of the development of the District and cited Mamponteng and Afrancho where the DCE had adopted divide and rule tactics so as to consolidate his position.

The DCE was also accused of taking credit for projects which were initiated by the NDC, stressing for instance that before his appointment in 2001, the Ahwiaa Crafts Centre had almost been completed yet he claimed to have initiated the project.

They described as unfortunate claims by the DCE that the District Health Insurance Scheme was operational whereas in concrete terms, there was nothing to suggest that the scheme was operating in the District. When contacted, Alhaji Yeboah said the action of the demonstrators was an attempt to discredit his hard won image and the good work he had done for the District.

He said since the agitators constituted a minute group of disgruntled elements, he was not in the least perturbed about their action since it was the Assembly members who had the mandate to either vote for his retention or reject him.