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General News of Monday, 23 September 2002

Source: Chronicle

NPP Executives Want DCE's Head

The Nalerigu constituency of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is calling for the head of its District Chief Executive (DCE), David Dubik Konlan, because, among other things, he is not yielding to pressure to distribute contracts among the party faithful.

When executives of the party met on March 24, this year, they commanded Konlan to "identify a group of NPP executives in the constituency for contracts to be awarded to them in turns.

The same strategy should be applied on the Poverty Alleviation Fund," a petition they fired to the DCE, a copy of which has landed in the hands of Chronicle, said.

Four months later, on July 18, the executives met to write a four-point petition, asking the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development to dismiss Konlan.

The executives attached the petition they wrote to the DCE on March 24 and noted that, "he promised to change his behaviour but this has since proved futile."

They further alleged that he gave contracts to people who gave him gifts and "forget we, the supporters, who used our scanty resources to help bring about the victory of NPP."

The executives further alleged that two per cent of some 10 per cent "collected from the award of contracts was promised to be given for the upkeep of the constituency but this has never come."

"Ever since the party won the 2000 elections, the DCE had given the party branch "only" ?2,000,000 and "this could not even take care of members' T&T, let alone make refreshment," they charged.

It was the claim of the party executives that their DCE's behaviour had gone a long way to weaken the party branch at Nalerigu, as they cited "financial constraints" as reasons for failure of executives and rank and file to meet.

Party executives and elders who signed the petition asking for the head of Konlan, number 21.

Other reasons they assigned were that since assuming duty 18 months ago, Konlan had toured only four villages in the district, always pleading to be busy, instead of descending to the grassroots to explain government policies.

He lacks good public relations, disregards traditional authority and fails to attend festivals were Konlan's other charges.

The petition was received by the deputy Regional Minister, who has since directed the DCE to react to the allegations.

Meanwhile, observers are worried by the implications of asking for the dismissal of a DCE because he did not agree to share building contracts among members of the ruling party.

This is because the award of contracts is supposed to be done by a district tender board of about ten members over which the DCE presides.

The best bidder is expected to be given the contract, irrespective of which party he belongs to.

Well-wishers of the party also felt disturbed by the fact that among the factors that contributed to the unpopularity of the deposed National Democratic Congress (NDC) was the perception that they were distributing all the "juicy" contracts among themselves.

In New Juaben, for example, executives of the NDC appealed for the removal of the then DCE, Emmanuel Adu Boateng, on charges similar to those being levelled against the East Mamprusi chief executive. That was in 1997.

When the documents leaked to the press and the public, the party received a barrage of verbal attacks, while Boateng gained some public sympathy.

But indepth investigations suggested that Konlan's woes do not solely derive from the charges expressly stated against him. Tribalism, is the other factor.

East Mamprusi, which has Gambaga as the district capital, has two constituencies, Bunkpurugu/Yoyo and Nalerigu. Dominant tribes in the district are the Mamprusis, Bimobas and Konkombas.

Since the First Republic only one non-Mamprusi has been made DCE; the post has always gone to the Mamprusis.

But the NPP - apparently aware of the imbalance - made Konlan, a Bimoba, its first DCE for East Mamprusi, something the Mamprusis have reportedly never been comfortable with.

Of the 21 people calling for the dismissal of Konlan, only one, Laar D. Yobart, is a Bimoba; the rest are all Mamprusis, it was gathered.