Abodom Youth Accuse Chiefs of Embezzlement

The Abodom Youth Association has accused chiefs in the town of embezzling 23 million cedis paid to them by a timber Contractor as royalties.

Mr Joseph A. Prah, General Secretary of the Association, made the accusation at a durbar on Tuesday to climax the annual Akwambo Festival of the chiefs and people of Abodom in the Agona District.

He alleged that Virgin Timbers, based in Takoradi, paid the 23 million cedis last year to the chiefs for the development of Abodom.

Mr Prah said the chiefs were finding it difficult to render accounts to the youth, and the situation was creating bad blood between them.

He said the chiefs said they spent 19 million cedis to rehabilitate the palace and to buy a cow, which they slaughtered to pacify the gods during an outbreak of cholera.

He said the chiefs have agreed to refund a balance of four million cedis in two months by instalments to be deposited in the town's accounts.

Mr Prah alleged that investigations conducted into how the 23 million cedis was used revealed that the money was shared to 15 family heads who were kingmakers in the town.

He said development projects had stalled in the town for the past years due to the misuse of money by some opinion leaders. He added that the town lacks facilities such as toilets, additional school blocks and drugs for the new clinic.

He said the misappropriation of development funds had discouraged the youth association branches in the major cities from contributing towards development programmes.

Reacting to the accusation, Nana Kwesi Asomaning, Tufuhene of Abodom denied the alleged embezzlement of the money and maintained that 19 million cedis was used for the rehabilitation of the chief's palace and the purchase of the cow to pacify the gods during an outbreak of cholera last year.

Nana Asomaning also confirmed that they had promised to pay back the remaining four million cedis in two months instalments.

He said he was unhappy about the allegations and said some of the chiefs had even threatened to abdicate if the youth continued to accuse them of embezzling money.