General News of Monday, 10 July 2017

Source: classfmonline.com

Documents prove Adwoa Safo secured lands for Community SHS

Adwoa Safo, MP for Dome Kwabenya Adwoa Safo, MP for Dome Kwabenya

Two letters sighted by ClassFMonline.com show Adwoa Safo actually arranged for land for the construction of the Kwabenya SHS, the community day senior high school in her constituency.

The Dome Kwabenya MP has been the subject of relentless trolling on social media for claiming during a recent delegates’ conference of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in her constituency that she personally negotiated with the World Bank to site a public senior high school in her constituency after securing litigation-free land for that purpose.

Her move at the time, she said, had become necessary because the NDC government was putting up the community day senior high schools in only its strongholds, at the expense of constituencies like hers.

The claim has been rebuffed by the NDC who say Ms Safo was not involved in deliberations in obtaining the grant for the construction of the schools and there was no policy to concentrate such infrastructure in its strongholds.

After days of being mocked across social media, a letter was purportedly written by Ms Safo on May 4, 2015, to the Director-General of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) shows the MP initiated moves to get the land for the school project.

The letter from Ms Safo read: “I write to request for 20 acres of land from your outfit. This tract of land will be used for the construction of a senior high school (SHS) facility to serve the educational needs of students in my constituency who graduate from the basic schools.

“There are 33 basic schools, yet there is no senior high school where pupils from the junior high schools could graduate to.

“We also have to our benefit three major universities: the University of Allied Sciences, Wisconsin University, and Ashesi University. This is clear evidence of a gap in the educational structure in the constituency.

“I would, therefore, be grateful if you could grant us the said tract of land to enable the government construct a [senior high] school facility in the constituency as part of the 100 [Senior High] Schools project initiated by the government.”

The lawmaker’s request was approved a few days later by GAEC, with its Director of Administration, Felix Adeku, on behalf of the Director-General, authorising the Ga East Municipality to cede some portion of the Commission’s lands for the project.

Giving the directive on May 8, 2015, GAEC said: “Management has approved the use of the land at the GAEC DC Primary and JHS in between the Community Library and the Israel King of the Jews for the building of a senior high school facility as part of government’s intended project in the municipality.

“You are kindly requested to produce a site plan on the discussed area for the project for consideration and documentation. We count on your cooperation.”