LOWER MANYA ASSEMBLY MEMBERS CLASH WITH COORDINATING DIRECTOR, MFO

Mr. John Kofi Adomako, the Municipal Coordinating Director, Lower Manya Krobo

The relationship between Assembly Members of the Lower Manya Krobo on one side and the Coordinating Director of the assembly, Mr. John Kofi Adomako, as well as the Municipal Finance Officer, Jonathan Obeng Yeboah has turned sour with the former calling for the immediate transfer of the two senior officers.

The assembly, as a house, has since passed a resolution and issued a seven day ultimatum after which they will oust the two officials by other means available to them. 

At a general meeting held on Thursday March 19, 2015, members unanimously voted in favour of the motion to have Mr. Adomako transferred without delay from the municipality.

All forty (40) members present at the meeting out of a total membership of 45 supported the motion and directed the Presiding Member, Dr. Peace Mamle Tetteh to take immediate steps to convey the decision of the house to the appropriate authorities for speedy implementation latest Wednesday April 1, 2015 to avoid confrontation.

Out of the forty (40) present, 35 representing more than two-thirds majority of the house also threw their weight behind the decision for the Finance Officer, Mr. Yeboah to be transferred within the same period. 

The honourable members are accusing Mr. Adomako of presiding over corrupt practices at the assembly and using official working hours as well as state resources to transact his personal businesses to the detriment of the assembly. He is hardly at post during working hours and will not co-operate with the house to prosecute the developmental agenda of the assembly even on the few days he shows up at work, they added.

The assembly members are also up in arms against Yeboah for not presenting what they called trial balance, a quarterly report that shows the financial status of the municipal assembly. They said, he has never attended the Finance and Administration Sub-committee meeting, a committee he is supposed to serve as secretary by virtue of his position and would not give any reason neither will he furnish them with the relevant official documents needed for the committee to transact its businesses.

Speaking in an interview, Evans Tamatey, one of the assembly members said, “We want the two officials out; it is a popular decision of the house and this we will pursue to the latter. Their stay will not help the development agenda of the municipality.”

When contacted, Mr. Adomako who is presently indisposed indicated that he was yet to be notified officially but added that the assembly members were aggrieved partly because he raised concerns about their arbitrary increment in sitting allowance from GHC 30.00 to GHC 100.00. He however, denied using office hours and resources for his private business.

The Presiding Member of the Assembly, Dr. Peace Mamle Tetteh and Mr. Yeboah were not readily available for their comments.

On his part the Municipal Chief Executive, (MCE) Hon. Frederinck Jacob Acolatse said though he has reservations about the decision taken by the house which was without recourse to due process such as cautioning the officers or dragging them before the disciplinary committee, it is his wish that the Regional Coordinating Councils transfers the officers in the interest of peace.

Commenting on the performance of Mr. Adomako, the MCE said “He is good and has the experience except that he is slow with his work”. He added that Mr. Yeboah, on the other hand could be facing those challenges as adduced by the assembly members partly because of the lack of a centralized data storage system at the assembly. “The assembly is therefore taking steps to acquire more computers to get the system automated to facilitate the storage and sharing of data”, he emphasized.

KROBO CHIEF, 3 OTHERS IN COURT FOR ALLEDGED KIDNAPPING

Nene Agbau Narh III

A Divisional Chiefs of the Manya Krobo Traditional area, Nene Agbau Narh III, is standing trial together with three others in a Koforidua Circuit Court for an alledged act of kidnapping.

He is currently facing trial together with Mr. Peter Sedjordji Narh, Head of Popotia Limestone Land owners; Daniel Tetteh and Nartey alias Narh, all youth of the area who are additionally standing trial for abetment of crime.

Nene Agbau Narh, who is the Divisional Chief for the Djebiam Clan was arraigned before court on Thursday March 12, 2015 for purportedly kidnapping one Samuel Adjie Paditey, an agent of GHACEM, while the latter was on his usual reconnaissance and prospecting activities at the limestone-rich Popotia area, near Yonguase in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region.

Prior to this development, Mr. Paditey was said to have been invited together with the land owners to series of meetings, the last of which was held at the Manya Krobo Customary Lands Secretariat on Thursday February 5, 2015 and instructed by the Chiefs to cease all reconnaissance and prospecting activities since the area in question was not covered by the agreement between the parties.

A trustworthy source indicated that Mr. Paditey and his clients, Ghacem disregarded this directive and have been in active operations there. When on Friday February 20, 2015 the Chiefs had tipoff that Mr. Paditey had defied their directives and was illegally operating in the area in question, Nene Agbau Narh, then acting as the President of the Council dispatched some of his emissaries to summon the former to appear before them. While the messengers were returning from the site with the Mr. Paditey, the Oterkporlu Police had a hint of the issue and swiftly went in to take custody of Mr. Paditey.

He subsequently initiated legal action against Nene and his aides who were then hurled to court on Thursday March 12, 2015.

The four however narrowly escaped remand and were admitted to a GHC 15, 000 bail with two sureties each to reappear on Tuesday March 31, 2015.

Speaking in an interview, the Public Relation Officer (PRO) of the Manya Krobo Traditional Council, Nene Asada Ahor I, who doubles as the Chief of Akuse said, “The unfolding drama between the Council and Ghacem over Popotia is quite a surprise to us because the area is not part of what the Council and the Municipal Assembly legally allotted to Ghacem”. He however declined to comment on the substantive case, adding “We will advise ourselves accordingly after the court’s decision”.

Attempt to reach Mr. Paditey and his counsel for their side of the story yielded no result. 

SUPREME COURT'S RULING ON ASSEMBLY POLLS HAILED

Nene Agbau Narh III, Ag. President of the Manya Krobo Traditional Council and Divisional Chief of Djebiam (Second from left) flanked by Rev. Rt. S. L. Angmor, Nene Asada Ahor I, Chief of Akuse (in red headgear) and Asafoatse Tey Dakli, Suisi Kpongunor at a press conference held on the issue on Wednesday February 25, 2015

The story as captured in page 18 of the Saturday March 7, 2015 edition of the Daily Graphic newspaper

The Chiefs and people of the Manya Krobo Traditional Area who were going to demonstrate on Tuesday March 3, 2015 to prevent the Electoral Commission (EC) from conducting the assembly elections in the Natriku electoral area (Akuse) have hailed the Supreme Court’s decision ordering the postponement of the elections and the start of the entire process all over again.

They said, the decision of the court not only a real victory for democracy in Ghana but an opportunity for the EC to correct the anomaly of wrongly placing the Natriku electoral area under the Shai Osudoku District of the Great Accra Region instead of Lower Manya Krobo in the Eastern Region, contrary to provisions in the 1992 constitution and judgments of the Supreme Court.

The Natriku dilemma

The wrong placement of Natriku in the Shai Osudoku District instead of Lower Manya Krobo Municipality and the determined effort by the EC to hold the March 3, 2015 elections was going to disturb the peace of the area since the Chief and people of Manya Krobo were warming up for a showdown and to resist the EC. They have since served the Akuse District Police Command a notice to embark on a demonstration on Mach 3, 2015.

They indicated that their plan to take to an aggressive street protest to draw public and national attention to the illegality is still on course despite the postponement of the elections.

Hilary Saki Kodji,(Right) spokesperson for Kloma Gbi addressing the press conference

Hilary Saki Kodji, Spokesperson for Kloma Gbi (a Krobo Youth Group at the helm of the campaign) said “By putting Natriku under the Shai Osudoku District (Great Accra Region) instead of Lower Manya Krobo (Eastern Region) not only is the EC breaching Article 5 of the 1992 Constitution, but disregarding the numerous Supreme Court judgments which place the electoral area in question in Lower Manya (Eastern Region).

He wondered why the EC will also ignore the directives from the local Government Ministry which also directs the placement of Natriku in Lower Manya indicated in a letter dated March 14, 2013.

“We are not only out to aggressively defend our rights and heritage but to defend the sanctity of the constitution and ensure that the Supreme Court, the highest court of the land is not taken for granted,” Mr. Kodji said.

Background

Prior to the nationwide assembly elections in 2010, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development initiated an electoral area re-demarcation exercise that ended up changing the boundaries of the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality.

In the said exercise, seven electoral areas originally part of the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region namely Zongo New Town, Akutue, Osorkutu, Bungalow, Natriku, Amedeka and Salon - were illegally aligned to the Shai Osudoku District in the Greater Accra Region, creating a constitutional issue which went to the Supreme Court.

The Legislative Instrument (LI 1983) initiated by the Ministry and passed by Parliament to give legal backing to the re-demarcation exercise was declared null and void by a unanimous decision of a nine member panel of the Supreme Court on June 13, 2012.

In a letter from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development dated March 14, 2013 and signed by the then Minister, Hon. Akwasi Oppong-Fosu, clearance was sought for the EC to hold the assembly election  which was suspended in 2010. The letter specifically mentioned the 7 electoral areas that form the Akuse Township including Natriku.

The EC however held the elections but excluded Natriku. Presently the EC is preparing to conduct the upcoming assembly elections at Natriku but under the Shai Osudoku District instead of Lower Manya, an act that runs contrary to the provisions in Article 5 of the Constitution and the 2012 judgment of the Supreme Court.

The chiefs and people are therefore out there to protest the breach of the constitution and the disregard for the authority and rulings of the Supreme Court, since appeals and petitions to the authorities are yielding no result. 

The story as captured in page 18 of the Saturday March 7, 2015 edition of the Daily Graphic Newspaper