Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Assembly refutes allegations
The Management of the Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Assembly in the Eastern Region have refuted allegations levelled against the Municipal Co-ordinating Director, Mr John Kofi Adomako, and the Municipal Finance Officer, Mr Jonathan Obeng Yeboah, by some assembly members as published by a section of the media.
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the published, the reports said that the assembly passed a resolution and issued a seven-day ultimatum for the transfer of the two officers after which they planned to oust them by any means.
According to the story, 40 out of 45 assembly members who took part in a meeting on Thursday, March 19, 2015, supported the motion and directed the Presiding Member, Dr Peace Mamle Tetteh, to take immediate steps to convey the decision of the house to the appropriate authorities for its speedy implementation by Wednesday, April 1, 2015.
Corrupt practices
Whilst the said assembly members accused Mr Adomako of engaging in corrupt practices, Mr Yeboah was accused of failing to present monthly statements of acount, otherwise known as Trial Balance, to the assembly and the fact that he absented himself from Finance and Administration Sub-committee meetings, a committee on which he is assumed to be the secretary.
But a press statement issued by all the assistant directors of the various departments of the Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Assembly stated among others that all the allegations levelled against the co-ordinating director and the finance officer of the assembly were ungrounded, lacked substance and were only meant to tarnish the image and hard-won reputation of the said officers, adding, “these allegations are born out of people’s parochial interest.”
According to the officers, the assembly members who made the allegations of corrupt practices against the co-ordinating director could not mention any specific corrupt act or provide any substantial proof to merit the allegations, describing them as mere fabrications.
The officers further explained that some of the same assembly members took over the assembly toilets without any proper documentation and they were not paying anything to the assembly, an issue which came up in the assembly’s Revenue Mobilisation Task Force Report presented to the General Assembly on March 13, 2015.
The press release explained that it was not true that Mr Adomako uses the assembly’s resources to transact his personal business as he was always at post and ensured that all his subordinates were at post and carried out their official duties.
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It also explained that another major issue that might have contributed to the brouhaha was the insistence of the assembly members to increase their sitting allowance of GHC 30.00 to GHC100.00, which the director said the assembly could not pay because of the assembly’s financial position.
It said that at every General Assembly meeting management catered for the sitting allowance of 47 assembly members and 20 heads of departments including their snack, lunch, water and other expenses and it would be very difficult for management to pay the suggested sitting allowance of GHC 100.00 per member of the assembly.
For the allegation against the finance officer, the statement described it as not only frivolous, naïve and a show of ignorance about the finance officer’s work, but also gross misrepresentation.
Records available and attached to the press statement showed that the Finance and Administration, Sub-committee Chairman, Mr Siba Alhassan, always signed the Trial Balance prepared by the finance officer and his team of officers since he took over the finance management of the assembly in October 2014 and management wondered why the allegation against him.
It also explained that the finance officer is not secretary to the Finance and Administration Sub-committee but rather the budget officer. The finance officer also attended meetings regularly and when it was not possible for him to attend his deputy deputised for him.
The statement enumerated a number of achievements of the assembly under the current administration of Messrs Jacob Frederick Kwame Acolatse, John Kofi Adomako and Jonathan Obeng Yeboah, the Municipal Chief Executive ( MCE), Municipal Coordinating Director (MCD), and Municipal Finance Officer( MFO) respectively and said all the allegations were not true.
“In conclusion, we would like to state that the disgruntled assembly members should rather refocus their time and energy on developmental needs of the assembly rather than resorting to personal attacks on innocent public servants.”
The statement reminded the assembly members of the Oaths of Secrecy and Allegiance they took when they assumed office which prevented them from discussing internal assembly matters in the public domain in spite of the fact that their allegations were more of fabrications without concrete facts.
When the Daily Graphic contacted the Presiding Member of the Assembly, Dr Peace Mamle Tetteh, she confirmed the story. She, however, stated that even if the two officers would be transferred it would be a gradual process which would not be immediate, an agreement that was reached between the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council and the assembly officials. She, therefore, said the two assembly officials were still at post.
All efforts to get Mr Acolatse, the MCE for his comments on the issue proved futile.