Tema MCE blows Ghc40,000 on birthday party for staff

Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Isaac Ashai Odamtten has told The Finder that about Ghc40, 000 was spent on a birthday party for 180 staff who were born in the months of June, July and August.

He disclosed this to The Finder in reaction to concerns raised about the amount of money spent on birthday celebrations.

Mr Odamtten said the assembly spent the Ghc40,000 on what he described as a birthday cocktail for 180 staff.

He said: “We have a staff of about 1,000, and because it will be difficult to bring all of them to one staff durbar, we decided to hold a kind of monthly birthday cocktail party for the staff in series.

“The platform is also to enable us break lethargy, discuss staffs’ shortcomings and then encourage members to give out their best in their respective departments.”

He described as unfair the wild allegations making the rounds that the assembly spent Ghc60,000 on the buffet birthday celebrations.

Meanwhile, some assembly members are planning an emergency meeting to pass a vote of no confidence in the MCE.

They accused the MCE of prioritising trivial things like birthday celebrations at the expense of serious challenges confronting the metropolis.

The assembly members alleged that following the cholera outbreak, they proposed regular clean-up exercises with a budget of Ghc1,500 for each of the 31 assembly members.

This figure, they said, was reduced to Ghc500 per assembly after a heated debate, but the MCE did not approve it with the excuse that there was no money.

They were, therefore, surprised to see the MCE endorse a birthday party costing about Ghc40,000.

Consequently, they are demanding that the Presiding Member calls an emergency meeting for a vote of no confidence to be passed in the MCE.