District chief executive orders bribe money to be paid into scholarship fund

Akim Oda (Eastern Region), 10th May ?99 ?

Some traders at Akim Oda, who allegedly bribed the Birim South district chief executive (DCE), Mr John Effah-Boadi, to allow them to continue to trade at unauthorised places were disappointed, when he refused to budge.

He ordered that the amount of 100,000 cedis, the traders allegedly offered him to compromise his position on an exercise to rid the town of unauthorised structures, should be paid into the district assembly's scholarship fund.

This came to light when Mr Effah-Boadi held a meeting with the traders, including orange, second-hand clothing and footwear sellers, personnel of the Town and Country Planning Department and officers of the district assembly in his office at Akim Oda on Friday.

The DCE said during the exercise, traders who had their kiosks and tables close to the streets were ejected.

The traders later "organised themselves" and raised the amount, which they sent to him with the view to influencing him to allow them to go back to their former sites.

He told the traders that he was determined to bring sanity into the area and warned that those caught selling at unauthorised places would have their wares seized.

Mr Effah-Boadi tasked the Town and Country Planning Department and the assembly's planning department to compile a list of all the traders and have them re-settled.