Financial rot at KKDA

There is currently too much financial rot going on at the Kpone Katamanso District Assembly (KKDA), near Tema, DAILY GUIDE has discovered.

The Environmental Officer of the newly created district assembly, Issaka Nuhu, is alleged to be collecting some sanitation permit fees worth thousands of Ghana Cedis from factories within this catchment area, which he later deposits into an unknown private account.

He is also alleged to be keeping monies collected from companies and later shares with certain key personalities at the blind sight of the Assembly.

The permit fee is an exercise of power conferred on the KKDA according to the Local Government Establishment Instrument 2013, Regulation 3(2).

KKDA is expected to exercise control, regulation, inspection, supervision and licensing of the any premises or land upon which any profession, occupation, trade or business is carried out.

In the light of the above, all establishment, profession, occupation and offices are obliged to obtain Environmental Sanitation Permit from the Public Health Department of the KKDA.

The Environmental Health Officer periodically inspects all establishments to ascertain the level of the environmental sanitation, waste management practices, safety procedures, sanitary conveniences, washing facilities, drainage of floors, drinking water, pollution, noise, vibration, among others.

The KKDA between January and July, 2013 lost GH¢129, 400 in revenue as a result of this fraudulent acts being carried out by some of its leaders like Mr Nuhu. Investigations conducted by DAILY GUIDE showed evidence of forged sanitation permits and letterheads of the Assembly signed to some factories within the Kpone-Katamanso District charging fees unknown to the Assembly.

According to information also gathered by DAILY GUIDE, Mr Nuhu instead of periodically visiting factories under the Assembly’s jurisdiction to inspect sanitation hazards, rather indulges in collecting monies from the factory owners without inspection and issues them with fake permits.

Any factory which fails to comply with his orders is served with a letter of penalty which he personally collects with the issuance of forged receipts.

Some companies within the KKDA area are alleged to have paid monies to Mr Nuhu and other revenue collectors which they are yet to get proper receipt of.

DAILY GUIDE is therefore calling on Alhaji Antaiye Tetteh, DCE for Kpone Katamanso District Assembly, to as a matter of urgency help to adopt appropriate measures in order to halt the current financial malfeasance within his jurisdiction.