Our DCE is corrupt - NDC MP tells constituents

The member of Parliament (MP) for Banda in the Brong Ahafo Region and Deputy Majority Chief Whip, Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim, has bemoaned the state of corruption in the Banda District Assembly.

The Member of Parliament, who was touring some communities in his constituency to explain what has been going on in Parliament to the people, could not hide his frustration at the rate at which the resources of the new district were being dissipated.

“As a Member of the Legislature, I have the responsibility to ensure that the executive arm of government make judicious use of the resources of this country, and will, therefore, not hide any corrupt element anywhere,” the MP told the people. Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim said corruption had no political colours, and that no matter who is involved, it must be exposed.

He noted that it was not those who shield corruption who are lovers of the party (NDC) and government, but those who come out to expose corrupt activities like what was going on in the Banda District Assembly, led by the District Chief Executive, Alex Bonsu.

He said since the creation of the new district, not even a single project had been completed by the District Assembly, though the district had received over GH¢2.1million from the government. “The corruption at the District Assembly is not about me, Ahmed, and the District Chief Executive, Mr. Alex Bonsu, or any personality for that matter, but it is at the heart of the development of the district and the people of Banda,” the MP said.

Ahmed said ever since the matter of financial malfeasance was exposed by external auditors at the Assembly, he had never gone public with any issue, but felt obliged to do so now. The MP said an audit carried out at the Assembly had uncovered a series of corruption, including inflation of contract sums on boreholes, ghost contracts and the misappropriation of the Disability Fund.

The Member of Parliament added that the District Chief Executive had admitted in various meetings, including those with the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, of his involvement in these corrupt activities. Mr. Alex Bonsu told The Chronicle that he would not comment on the allegation, and that he had been advised by a minister not to make any public comment.

The MP, however, told his constituents that all those in higher authority who are supposed to know about the massive corruption in the assembly had been briefed, and that he was waiting for their response. He told the communities that a contract had been awarded for the construction of a 24-unit classroom block at the Bandaman Senior High School, and appealed to them to take advantage of the proximity and the facilities to send their children to school.

The MP pledged five packets of aluminum roofing sheets in aid of a teacher’s bungalow initiated by the Bofie community, and pledged a further five packets and GH¢1000 for another community initiated Kumasi Improved Ventilation Pit (KVIP) at Gbao. He also donated 20 packets of roofing sheets in aid of the construction of a mosque at Weiwa.

The Chief of Banda Boase, Nana Ligbi Wolutie Zobo II, was full of praise for the MP, for his developmental efforts in the district, especially in education and electricity extension, but was quick to appeal to him to ensure that the road linking the community to Nsawkaw, the Tain District capital, was given a facelift. The communities the MP visited include Beima, Banda Boase, Sanwa, Makala, Weiwa, Bofie, Gbao and Sabiye.