Kumasi: Ashanti Regional Minister Denies Cocaine Story

THE ASHANTI Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, is boiling with rage, following a palpable false and concocted news publication attributed to him that tends to pitch him against traders in Kumasi.

According to him, he has a thick skin and he is also determined to serve the people of the Ashanti Region with dignity therefore no amount of fabrications and hoax stories against him would make him lose focus, urging his detractors to take note.

Recently, Mr Osei Mensah warned recalcitrant traders in Kumasi to vacate the streets. They breach the by-laws of the city by plying their trade on the streets, with the excuse that they need to sell to fend for their families.

The minister explained that illegality should not be condoned in the country by the authorities concerned when the culprits give flimsy excuses to justify their weird and illegal actions.

Minister's Statement
He stated, “We drove some traders off the pavement and on the streets of Kumasi around Suame and the reason some of the traders gave was that they needed to sell on the streets to fend for their families”.

Mr Osei Mensah added, “According to the by-laws, their action is illegal; you can't engage in robbery or sell cocaine in the country and say I do it in order to fend for my family”.

The occasion was the pre-launch of the 'Keep Kumasi Clean and Green' project by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) – a massive project aimed at restoring Kumasi to its former status as the Garden City of West Africa.

False Reportage
Surprisingly, some news portals clearly misquoted the regional minister's statement to mean that he had insulted traders in Kumasi to go and sell cocaine. Others also accused him of likening the traders to animals.

The minister, who is upset about the false reports, said, “These wild, unsubstantiated and irresponsible stories are not just misleading, they are pure concoctions from a mischievous person for reasons best known to him or her”.

Anger
The minister said “To me, these reports and those behind it have a sinister agenda to create enmity between myself and the traders”, stating categorically that no amount of fiendish plans by his faceless detractors could bring him down.

Mr Osei Mensah said as the minister and father of the region, he owed it a great duty to respect the people that have been put under his care to serve, adding that under no reason would he insult traders in the region.

“I therefore want to state categorically that I haven't said the things I'm being deliberately accused of”, he stated, urging those who cared to know what he said exactly during the event to contact the radio and television stations that covered the event for the video or audio.

FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi